Notes on
Genesis
2024 Edition
Dr. Thomas L. Constable
Introduction
Title
Each book of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament, called "The Pentateuch" since about A.D. 160, and called "The Torah" ["instruction"] by the Jews), originally received its title in the Hebrew Bible from the first word or words in the book. There are three divisions in the Hebrew Bible: The Law (Torah), The Prophets, and The Writings (cf. Luke 24:44).[1] The Torah was originally one book, but the translators of the Septuagint (Greek) version (ca. 250 B.C.) divided it into the five books that we have. The Jews regarded the stories in the Torah as divine instruction for them, as well as the commandments and sermons, since they too teach theology and ethics. The word "Pentateuch" comes from the Greek words penta, meaning "five," and teuchos, which was a case for carrying papyrus scrolls, and in later usage, the scrolls themselves.
The English title "Genesis" has come to us from the Latin Vulgate translation (Liber Genesis) made by the early church father Jerome (ca. A.D. 390). The Latin title came from the Septuagint translation. "Genesis" is a transliteration of the Greek word geneseos, the Greek word that translates the Hebrew toledot. This Hebrew word is the key word in identifying the structure of Genesis, and the English translators have usually rendered it "account" or "generations" or "history" or "records" (2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10, 27; 25:12, 19; 36:1, 9; 37:2).[2]
Date
The events recorded date back to the creation of the world.
Many Christians believe that the earth is millions of years old. They usually base this belief on the statements of scientists and they understand Scripture in the light of these statements. Likewise many Christians believe that the human race began hundreds of thousands of years ago for the same reason.
Many evangelical Christians believe that the earth is not much older than 10,000 years. They base this on the genealogies in Scripture (Gen. 5; 10; 11; et al.), which they understand to be "open" (i.e., not complete).[3] Evangelicals usually hold to a more recent date for man's creation—more recent than the millions of years that evolutionists postulate—for the same reason.
"The history of man on the earth may easily be more than the supposed six thousand years and with no violence to the testimony of the Sacred Text."[4]
Another group of evangelicals believes that these genealogies are either "closed" (i.e., complete) or very close to complete. This leads them to date the creation of the world and man about 6,000 years ago. I shall discuss the question of how we should interpret the genealogies in the exposition of the chapters where they occur.
Many interpreters have placed the date of composition of Genesis much later than Moses' lifetime. Some of them do this because Genesis contains some names that became common designations of people and places after Moses' time (e.g., the Philistines, Dan, et al.). I shall discuss these peculiarities in the exposition to follow as we come to them. See also the section below: "Writer." If one accepts Mosaic authorship, as most conservative evangelicals do, the date of composition of Genesis must be within Moses' lifetime (ca. 1525-1405 B.C.).
In Old Testament studies, some writers describe the "before Christ" (B.C.) period as "B.C.E." This stands for "before the common era." These writers also refer to the A.D. (Lat. ano domini, "year of our Lord") period as "C.E.," the "common era."
Genesis was perhaps originally intended to encourage the Israelites to trust in their faithful, omnipotent God as they anticipated entrance into the Promised Land from Kadesh Barnea or from the Plains of Moab.[5] Moses may have written it earlier to prepare them for the Exodus.[6] But this seems less likely to me. Another guess is that Moses wrote it during the 38 years of the Israelites' wilderness wanderings.[7] No one knows for sure.
Writer
The authorship of the Pentateuch has been the subject of great controversy among professing Christians since Spinoza promoted "higher criticism" of the Bible in the 17th century. The "documentary hypothesis," which grew out of his work, is that Moses did not write the Pentateuch, as most scholars in Judaism and the church until that day believed. Instead, it was the product of several writers who lived much later than Moses. A redactor (editor) or redactors combined these several documents into the books that we have now. These documents (J, E, D, P, and others) represent: a Yahwistic (Jehovistic) tradition (supposedly dating from the ninth century B.C.), an Elohistic tradition (eighth century B.C.), a Deuteronomic tradition (seventh century B.C.), a Priestly tradition (fifth century B.C.), etc. The subject of Old Testament Introduction deals with these matters.[8] One reliable scholar summed up the present state of this controversy as follows:
"… the documentary hypothesis is shaky at best and before long may have to be given up entirely by the scholarly world."[9]
The evidence that Moses wrote the Pentateuch seems conclusive if one believes that Jesus Christ spoke the truth when He attributed the authorship to Moses (Matt. 19:8; Mark 7:10; Luke 16:29-31; 20:37; 24:27; John 7:19, 22; cf. Acts 15:1). Jesus Christ did not specifically say that Moses wrote Genesis, but in His day the Jews regarded the Pentateuch (Torah) as a whole unit. They recognized Moses as the author of all five books.[10] Consequently they would have understood what Jesus said about any of the five books of Moses as an endorsement of the Mosaic authorship of them all.[11]
"Just west of Abydos in southern Egypt, the Wadi el-Hol site yielded an alphabetic inscription carved on the underface of a ledge. Palaeographically it resembled a text found at Serabit al-Khadem in the Sinai Peninsula from 1600 B.C., which until 1993 was the earliest alphabet ever found. But the Wadi Hol example is at least two hundred years older, dating from the time Jacob and his sons lived in Egypt. The argument that Moses could not have written the Torah in alphabetic form that early (ca. 1400 B.C.) thus has no basis."[12]
How did Moses receive the information that He wrote about in Genesis? He may have done so in either of two ways: Perhaps Adam and Eve told the creation story to their descendants and they passed it on to succeeding generations orally and/or in written form (i.e., tradition). Moses' mother may have told him these stories as a child. If so, God guarded the true account of what happened before Moses' lifetime and kept it from error. The other ancient Near Eastern accounts were perversions of what really happened.[13] Another possibility is that God revealed this information directly to Moses.[14]
The New Testament writers quoted or alluded to Genesis over 60 times in 17 books. They believed that it contained an accurate account of humankind's early experiences.
Scope
The events recorded in Genesis stretch historically from Creation to Joseph's death, a period of at least 2,300 years. The first part of the book (ch. 1—11) is not as easy to date precisely as the second part (ch. 12—50). The history of the patriarchs recorded in this second main division of the text covers a period of about 300 years.
The scope of the book progressively and consistently narrows. That is, only a few selected events are recorded in the first 11 chapters with intervening gaps of unspecified time. But with chapter 12 many more events are recorded in much more detail with much shorter gaps in time.[15] Genesis begins with the creation of the cosmos and ends with the death of one man: Joseph.
Purpose
The selection of content included in Genesis points to the purpose of the divine author: to reveal the history of and basic principles involved in God's relationship with people.
Genesis provides the historical basis for the rest of the Pentateuch and the Bible. Chapters 1 through 11 give historical background essential to understanding God's covenant relationship with humankind, and chapters 12 through 50 record the Abrahamic Covenant and its initial outworking. The Abrahamic Covenant continues to be the basic arrangement by which God brings blessing to humanity throughout the Pentateuch and the rest of the Bible.
"The real theme of the Pentateuch is the selection of Israel from the nations and its consecration to the service of God and His Laws in a divinely appointed land. The central event in the development of this theme is the divine covenant with Abraham and its … promise to make his offspring into the people of God and to give them the land of Canaan as an everlasting inheritance."[16]
"… the book may also be said to be the story of God's free grace in establishing Israel for Himself as His people."[17]
Genesis provides an indispensable prologue to the drama that unfolds in Exodus and the rest of the Pentateuch. The first 11 chapters constitute a prologue to this prologue.
"Two opposite progressions appear in this prologue [chs. 1—11]: (a) God's orderly Creation with its climax in His blessing of man, and (b) the totally disintegrating work of sin with its two greatest curses being the Flood and the dispersion at Babel.[18] The first progression demonstrates God's plan to bring about perfect order from the beginning in spite of what the reader may know of man's experience. The second progression demonstrates the great need of God's intervention to provide the solution for the corrupt human race."[19]
The practical purpose of Genesis is to encourage the reader to trust and obey God. Originally the purpose was to encourage the Israelites to trust and obey God. Regardless of when Moses may have written Genesis, this was his obvious purpose, as is clear from what he wrote. He wanted to prepare the Israelites for the future by reminding them of the past—to learn from their history. This is its function for us today as well. As we read the text we should continually ask ourselves: What did this mean to the original readers? That is what God intended it to mean to us today, not whatever else we may think it means. This is one of the cardinal rules of interpreting any piece of literature, including the Bible. Once we have learned what the writer intended the original readers to understand, by what he wrote and by how he wrote it—this is interpretation—then we can go on to apply what he wrote to ourselves—this is application.
One of Moses' main points in Genesis was that the same God who created Israel had created the universe. His word was the key instrument in creating both entities. As He had brought order, fullness, and rest to the material world, so He would do the same for His chosen people. He is the sovereign of the universe, its ultimate authority. Therefore people should trust and obey Him.
Theology
The real hero of Genesis is the LORD God, and its stories deal with the origin and life of the believing community that He created under His sovereign authority.[20]
"What gives the Old Testament its force and unity is the affirmation of the sovereignty of God. God is the basis of all things and all that exists only exists by his will."[21]
"The subject matter of the theology in Genesis is certainly God's work in establishing Israel as the means of blessing the families of the earth. This book forms the introduction to the Pentateuch's main theme of the founding of the theocracy, that is, the rule of God over all Creation. It presents the origins behind the founding of the theocracy: the promised blessing that Abraham's descendants would be in the land.
"Exodus presents the redemption of the seed out of bondage and the granting of a covenant to them. Leviticus is the manual of ordinances enabling the holy God to dwell among His people by making them holy. Numbers records the military arrangement and census of the tribes in the wilderness, and shows how God preserves His promised blessings from internal and external threats. Deuteronomy presents the renewal of the covenant.
"In the unfolding of this grand program of God, Genesis introduces the reader to the nature of God as the sovereign Lord over the universe who will move heaven and earth to establish His will. He seeks to bless mankind, but does not tolerate disobedience and unbelief. Throughout this revelation the reader learns that 'without faith it is impossible to please God' (Heb. 11:6)."[22]
"What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us."[23]
structure
The structure of Genesis is very clear. The phrase "the generations of" (AV, ESV, toledot in Hebrew, from yalad meaning "to bear, to generate") occurs ten times (really eleven times since 36:9 repeats 36:1), and in each case it introduces a new section of the book.[24] The Jews regarded "ten" as the symbolical number of completeness.[25]
"The person named is not necessarily the main character but is the beginning point of the section that also closes with his death."[26]
The first part of Genesis is introductory, or a prologue, and sets the scene for what follows in the book. An outline of Genesis based on this structure is as follows:
1. Introduction 1:1—2:3
2. The generations of heaven and earth 2:4—4:26
3. The generations of Adam 5:1—6:8
4. The generations of Noah 6:9—9:29
5. The generations of the sons of Noah 10:1—11:9
6. The generations of Shem 11:10-26
7. The generations of Terah 11:27—25:11
8. The generations of Ishmael 25:12-18
9. The generations of Isaac 25:19—35:29
10. The generations of Esau 36:1-43
11. The generations of Jacob 37:1—50:26
As noted above, Moses' movement was from the general to the specific throughout the book:
Part I (chs. 1-11): at least 2,000 years
Part II (chs. 12-50): about 300 years
Total: at least 2,300 years[27]
Outline
A full expository (explanatory) outline designed to highlight the relative emphases of the book follows. I shall follow this outline in these notes as I seek to unpack the message of the book. I am translating toledot in this outline as "what became of."
I. Primeval events 1:1—11:26
A. The story of creation 1:1—2:3
1. An initial statement of creation 1:1
2. Conditions at the time of creation 1:2
3. The six days of creation 1:3-31
4. The seventh day 2:1-3
B. What became of the creation 2:4—4:26
1. The Garden of Eden 2:4—3:24
2. The murder of Abel 4:1-16
3. The spread of civilization and sin 4:17-26
C. What became of Adam 5:1—6:8
1. The effects of the curse on humanity ch. 5
2. God's sorrow over man's wickedness 6:1-8
D. What became of Noah 6:9—9:29
1. The Flood 6:9—8:22
2. The Noahic Covenant 9:1-17
3. The curse on Canaan 9:18-29
E. What became of Noah's sons 10:1—11:9
1. The table of nations ch. 10
2. The dispersion at Babel 11:1-9
F. What became of Shem 11:10-26
II. Patriarchal narratives 11:27—50:26
A. What became of Terah 11:27—25:11
1. Terah and Abram's obedience 11:27—12:9
2. Abram in Egypt 12:10-20
3. Abram's separation from Lot ch. 13
4. Abram's military victory ch. 14
5. The Abrahamic covenant ch. 15
6. The birth of Ishmael ch. 16
7. The sign of circumcision ch. 17
8. Yahweh's visit to Abraham 18:1-15
9. Abraham's intercession for Lot 18:16-33
10. The destruction of Sodom ch. 19
11. Abraham’s sojourn at Gerar ch. 20
12. The birth of Isaac 21:1-21
13. Abimelech's treaty with Abraham 21:22-34
14. The sacrifice of Isaac 22:1-19
15. The descendants of Nahor 22:20-24
16. The purchase of Sarah's tomb ch. 23
17. The choice of a bride for Isaac ch. 24
18. Abraham's death 25:1-11
B. What became of Ishmael 25:12-18
C. What became of Isaac 25:19—35:29
1. Isaac's twin sons 25:19-26
2. The sale of the birthright 25:27-34
3. Isaac and Abimelech 26:1-11
4. Isaac's wells 26:12-33
5. Jacob's deception for Isaac's blessing 26:34—28:9
6. Jacob's vision at Bethel 28:10-22
7. Jacob's marriages and Laban's deception 29:1-30
8. Jacob's mishandling of God's blessings 29:31—30:24
9. Jacob's new contract with Laban 30:25-43
10. Jacob's flight from Haran ch. 31
11. Jacob's attempt to appease Esau 32:1-21
12. Jacob at the Jabbok 32:22-32
13. Jacob's meeting with Esau and his return to Canaan ch. 33
14. The rape of Dinah and the revenge of Simeon and Levi ch. 34
15. Jacob's return to Bethel and succeeding events ch. 35
D. What became of Esau 36:1—37:1
E. What became of Jacob 37:2—50:26
1. God's choice of Joseph 37:2-11
2. The sale of Joseph into Egypt 37:12-36
3. Judah and Tamar ch. 38
4. Joseph in Potiphar's house ch. 39
5. The prisoners' dreams and Joseph's interpretations ch. 40
6. Pharaoh's dreams and Joseph's interpretation ch. 41
7. Joseph's brothers' first journey into Egypt ch. 42
8. Joseph's brothers' second journey into Egypt ch. 43
9. Joseph's last test and its results ch. 44
10. Joseph's reconciliation with his brothers 45:1-15
11. Israel's move to Egypt 45:16-46:30
12. Joseph's wise leadership 46:31—47:27
13. Jacob's worship in Egypt 47:28—48:22
14. Jacob's blessing of his sons 49:1-28
15. Deaths and a promise yet to be fulfilled 49:29—50:26[28]
Message
What is the Bible all about? I would state the answer to that question as follows: God desires to glorify Himself by blessing humankind.
A young boy burst into the living room and announced to his father, "I know what the Bible means!" His father smiled and replied, "What do you mean, you 'know' what the Bible means?" His son replied, "I do know!" "Okay," said the father, "Tell me what the Bible means." "It's easy, Daddy. It stands for 'Basic Information Before Leaving Earth.'" That is exactly what the Bible is.
G. Campbell Morgan summarized the whole Bible by saying that the Old Testament is a revelation of human need, and the New Testament is a revelation of the divine supply that meets that need. He also believed that within the Pentateuch we hear the sigh for a priest, in the historical books we hear a cry for a king, and in the poetical and prophetical books we find the quest for a prophet.[29]
The message of the Pentateuch can be stated this way: People can experience God's blessing by trusting Him (believing His Word) and by obeying Him (following His initiative).
I believe Genesis is in the Bible primarily to teach us the following lesson: People can enjoy a personal relationship with God, and thereby realize their own fulfillment as human beings, only through trust in God and obedience to God. This is what I would call the message statement of the book. Genesis reveals that God is faithful to His promises and powerful enough to bring them to fulfillment.
Genesis reveals that God originally intended people to have an immediate (nothing between) relationship with their Creator. Evidences for this are, first, that God made man in His own image (1:26-27). Second, He regarded man as His son (1:28-30). Third, He made man as a special creation (2:7). Fourth, He made man with special care (2:7). And fifth, He consistently demonstrated concern for man's welfare (3:9). (Here "man" refers specifically to Adam, but Adam as the head of humanity.)
God's immediate relationship with Adam was broken by the Fall (ch. 3). In the Fall, man did two things: First, he failed to trust God's goodness with his mind. And, second, he rebelled against God's authority with his will (3:6).
God then took the initiative to re-establish the relationship with man that He had created man to enjoy. He provided atonement for man's sin until He would finally remove it. This temporary covering came through the sacrificial system. Animal sacrifices covered peoples’ sins adequately, but not completely. A final sacrifice had to be made that would remove people's sins permanently. God accepted sacrifices for sin before Calvary like a merchant accepts a credit card in payment for goods or services. A final payment still had to be made, and Christ's death was that final payment.
Throughout Genesis we see that people in general consistently failed to trust and obey God (e.g., in Noah's day, at Babel, and throughout the patriarchal period).
Genesis also records what God has done to encourage people to trust and obey Him. It is only by living by these two principles, trust and obedience, that people can enjoy a relationship with God and realize all that God created them to experience.
On the one hand, Genesis reveals much about the person and work of God. This revelation helps us to trust and obey Him. It is through His personal revelations to the main characters in Genesis that God revealed Himself initially (e.g., Adam and Eve, Noah, and the patriarchs).
On the other hand, Genesis reveals much about the nature of man. Not only did God reveal the perversity and depravity of fallen man, but He also identified many positive examples of faith and obedience in the lives of the godly.
In Genesis we learn that faith in God is absolutely essential if we are to have fellowship with Him and realize our potential as human beings.
Faith is the law of life. If one lives by faith, he flourishes, but if he does not, he fails. The four patriarchs are primarily examples of what faith is and how it manifests itself. In each of their lives we learn something new about faith.
Abraham's faith demonstrates unquestioning obedience. When God told him to do something, he almost always did it. This is the most basic characteristic of faith. That is one reason Abraham has been called "the father of the faithful." God revealed Himself nine times to Abraham (12:1-3, 7; 13:14-17; 15; 17:1-21; 18; 21:12-13; 22:1-2; 22:15-18), and each time Abraham's response was unquestioning obedience.
Isaac's faith helps us see the quality of passive acceptance that characterizes true faith in God. This was his response to God's two revelations to him (26:2-5, 24). Sometimes Isaac was too passive.
Jacob's story is one of conflict with God until he came to realize his own limitations. Then he trusted God. We can see his faith in his acknowledged dependence on God. God's seven revelations to him eventually led him to this place (28:12-15; 31:3, 11-13; 32:24-29; 35:1, 9-12; 46:2-4). Most believers today can identify with Jacob most easily because we too struggle with wanting to live independent of God.
Joseph's life teaches us what God can do with a person who trusts Him consistently in the face of adversity. The outstanding characteristic of Joseph's life was his faithful loyalty to God. He believed God's two revelations to him in dreams (37:5-7, 9), even though God's will did not seem to be working out as he thought it would. Patient faith and its reward shine through the story of Joseph. The Lord Jesus supremely illustrates this quality of faith, though He also illustrates the others perfectly as well.
Faith, the key concept in Genesis, means trusting that what God has prescribed is indeed best for me, and demonstrating that trust by waiting for God to provide what He has promised. A "person of faith" is one who commits to acting on this basis—even though he or she may not see how God's way is best.
The Pentateuch is all about God, man, and our mutual relationship. The key concept in Genesis is faith.[30]
Morgan introduced his comments on Genesis with the following admission:
"How many people have read the Book of Genesis? I do not mean study it. I have been studying it for sixty years and I do not know it yet. Its heights and depths are beyond me and that is the glory of the Bible. It may exhaust you, but you can never exhaust it."[31]
May all the readers of these notes follow Morgan's admirable example of repeatedly studying and learning from this great book.
Exposition
I. PRIMEVAL EVENTS 1:1—11:26
Chapters 1 through 11 provide an introduction to the Book of Genesis, to the Pentateuch, and to the whole Bible.
"Although the story of the Bible begins in Genesis 12, that is not where the Bible begins. It begins with what we now recognize as a prologue, a preparatory statement, so that we may be informed and equipped to understand the story that follows."[32]
"What we find in chaps. 1—11 is the divine initiation of blessing, which is compromised by human sin followed by gracious preservation of the promise: blessing – sin - grace."[33]
"His [Moses'] theological perspective can be summarized in two points. First, the author intends to draw a line connecting the God of the Fathers and the God of the Sinai covenant [the Mosaic Covenant] with the God who created the world. Second, the author intends to show that the call of the patriarchs and the Sinai covenant have as their ultimate goal the reestablishment of God's original purpose in Creation."[34]
"Evidently an interest in the way in which the world and humankind came into existence and in the history of the earliest times was characteristic of the ancient civilized world. At any rate, various 'origin stories' or 'creation myths' about the activities of a variety of creator-gods are still extant in what remains of the literatures of ancient Egypt and ancient Mesopotamia. But the combination of such accounts with narratives about more recent times testifies to an additional motivation. The aim of such works was to give their readers—or to strengthen—a sense of national or ethnic identity, particularly at a time when there was for some reason a degree of uncertainty or hesitation about this."[35]
"The placing of Gen. 1—11 as a prologue to the main body of the work also afforded the opportunity to express certain distinctively Israelite articles of faith which it would have been more difficult to introduce into the later narratives, particularly with regard to the doctrine of God."[36]
"Gen 1—11 as we read it is a commentary, often highly critical, on ideas current in the ancient world about the natural and supernatural world. Both individual stories as well as the final completed work seem to be a polemic [attack] against many of the commonly received notions about the gods and man. But the clear polemical thrust of Gen 1—11 must not obscure the fact that at certain points biblical and extrabiblical thought are in clear agreement. Indeed Genesis and the ancient Near East probably have more in common with each other than either has with modern secular thought."[37]
W. H. Griffith Thomas summed up the contents of the first 11 chapters of Genesis memorably as: creation, corruption, deluge, deliverance, and dispersal.[38]
Some scholars understand the stories in Genesis 1 through 11 to be parables, as the following quotation explains:
"For reasons of clarity and simplicity, the present writer prefers the word parable [when describing the stories in Genesis 1—11]. We are already familiar with this word from Jesus' frequent use of parables as a method of teaching his disciples and the people of his time. Surely no one would accuse Jesus of being false because he told the story of the Good Samaritan or the parable of the Prodigal Son."[39]
I do not believe the stories in Genesis 1 through 11 are parables. Parables are invented stories that picture something that could or might have happened but probably did not really happen (e.g., the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son). There seems to be too much evidence that the Creation, Fall, and Flood actually happened to conclude that the record that Moses wrote about them, in these chapters, describe things that did not really occur as described. If this is so, then probably the other incidents in these chapters are not parables either. Clearly the genealogies in chapters 5, 10, and 11 record the names of real people; they have not been made up simply to teach a lesson. I believe that the material in chapters 1 through 11 was revealed by God to Moses, directly and/or indirectly (from other sources), and that Moses recorded it as historical narrative as the Holy Spirit guided him (cf. Exod. 20:9-11; 31:17; Ps. 8; 104; Matt. 19:4-6; 2 Pet. 3:5; Heb. 4:4).[40]
A. The story of creation 1:1—2:3
God created the entire universe, and then formed and filled it, in six "days." He brought order and fullness for humankind to enjoy and to rule over. He then blessed and set apart the seventh day as a memorial of His creative work.[41] The God of Israel, the deliverer of His chosen people, is the Creator of all that exists.
"The creation account [in Genesis 1—2] is theocentric, not creature centered. Its purpose is to glorify the Creator by magnifying him through the majesty of the created order. The passage is doxological [in praise of God] as well as didactic [instructive], hymnic [worshipful] as well as history. 'God' is the grammatical subject of the first sentence (1:1) and continues as the thematic subject throughout the account."[42]
"… Gen 1:1—2:4a is clearly recognizable as a unit of historical narrative. It has an introduction (1:1), a body (1:2—2:3) and a conclusion (2:4a)."[43]
Historical narrative is one of several types or kinds (French genre) of biblical literature. Other genres include genealogy, poetry, law, epistolary, and apocalyptic.
"Genre is of crucial importance, since the reader's identification of a text's genre directs his or her reading strategy …"[44]
"For the most part, its [the Old Testament's] contents may be described under two rubrics: stories and poems."[45]
"It has frequently been recognized that the final shaping of the canonical Pentateuch [the Pentateuch as we now have it in our Bibles] involves the sorting and placement of material consisting of at least four literary types: narrative, poetry, law, and genealogy."[46]
"The prose narratives of the Old Testament are multifunctional. Most intend to impart historically accurate information while leading the reader to a deeper theological understanding of the nature of God and his relationship with his people."[47]
1. An initial statement of creation 1:1
"The purpose of the statement is threefold: to identify the Creator, to explain the origin of the world, and to tie the work of God in the past to the work of God in the future."[48]
This "beginning" (v. 1) is the beginning of the creation of the cosmos (physical universe), not the beginning of all things.[49] This appears to be clear from the context. Genesis has been called "the book of beginnings" because it records the beginning of so many things. Perhaps it would be more accurate to describe it as "the book of foundations."
"Contrary to ancient Near Eastern mythologies, in which the earth had no beginning, and in contrast to Greek philosophical thought, in which the existence of the world from eternity is a basic presupposition, the Genesis cosmology fixes by the use of the phrase 'in the beginning' (bere'sit) an absolute beginning for creation."[50]
The Hebrew word translated "God" ('elohim) is a plural noun. The plurality simply adds intensification to the name "El," as does the personal pronoun "us" in verse 26. Hebrew is the only ancient Semitic language that intensifies nouns and pronouns by making them plurals.[51] The writers of Scripture used 'elohim as a title of honor. Though it is a plural in form, it is singular in meaning when referring to the true God. This name represents the Creator's transcendent relationship to His creation; He is completely separate from and independent of nature. Some have called this the plural of majesty or "excellency."[52] Others call it a potential plural.[53] It emphasizes the fact that the God referred to is the fullness of deity, the only true God.
"The Hebrew word translated 'God' ('elohim) may be used as a plural noun and be translated 'gods.' But when this word is used of true God, then it is not a plural but is an intensified noun, exhausting the meaning of the underlying root ('alah) which means 'to be powerful.' He 'us' [is majestic and great in plurality]. When used of God, this is not really a plural (despite the common translation); it is a similar intensification of the pronoun which describes God."[54]
"He goes too far who sees in this plural a direct and explicit reference to the Holy Trinity. … he who would claim that the term can have no connection with the truth of the Holy Trinity goes too far."[55]
Theologian A. H. Strong defined God as "the infinitely perfect Spirit in whom all things have their source, support, and end."[56]
The Hebrew verb bara' ("create") refers only to the living God as its subject in the Bible. God alone is the Creator; no one else shares in the activity of truly creating (bara'ing).[57] Other Hebrew words are used to describe the creative activities of human beings.
"The heavens and the earth" refer to the universe as we know it (i.e., the sky above with all that is in it, and the earth below). There is no single word in Hebrew for "universe." "Heavens and earth" is a figure of speech (a merism) for totality; God created everything. (A merism uses two extremes to represent the whole.) The English translators often rendered the Hebrew word 'eres ("earth") as "land." By translating it this way here, we can see that Moses wanted his readers to realize that God created—and therefore owned—all land (cf. 12:7 and all subsequent references to the Promised Land; Ps. 24:1).[58]
"The sublime ideas expressed in this first verse of the Bible set the tone for the entire Genesis cosmology."[59]
This verse is important because it contradicts six popular philosophies:
1. Atheism: God does exist.
2. Pantheism: God is distinct from His creation.
3. Polytheism: "Created" is singular in the text. An obvious difference between the biblical account of creation and those of other ancient Near Eastern cultures is that the biblical account is monotheistic.
4. Radical materialism (matter is eternal): Matter had a supernatural origin (emphasis on origin).
5. Naturalism (evolutionism): Creation took place when Someone outside nature intervened (emphasis on process).
6. Fatalism: A personal God freely chose to create.[60]
God created the universe from nothing (Latin ex nihilo). While the text does not state this fact per se, the reader can deduce it from the following evidence: The phrase "in the beginning" implies it, as do the Hebrew word for "create" (bara') and the expression "formless and desolate" (v. 2). New Testament passages also support this conclusion (e.g., John 1:3; Rom. 4:17; Heb. 11:3).[61]
The emphasis in verse 1 is on the origin of the universe. God created it.[62] He alone is eternal, and everything else owes its origin and existence to Him.[63]
There are three major views concerning the relationship of 1:1 to the rest of the creation account.
1. Verse 1 describes God's original creation of the universe. Then God began fashioning the earth, and it became fully formed, as we now know it, in verse 2 or verse 3. This "double-creation" view may or may not involve a gap in time between verses 1 and 2.[64] Some advocates of this view believe that the original creation became chaotic as a result of divine judgment.[65] More information on this theory follows in my comments on 1:2.
2. Verse 1 describes part of what God did on the first day of creation (1:1-5). It is a general statement followed by specific details.[66]
3. Verse 1 describes, in very general, introductory terms, the same creation activity that God did on all six days of creation (1:2-31). It is a topic sentence that introduces the whole creation account that follows.[67] I prefer this view for reasons to be explained.
2. Conditions at the time of creation 1:2
Verse 2 probably describes what we now call "the earth" in its pre-formed—like a lump of clay—existence, before God gave it form and filled it.[68] Here "earth" refers to the whole planet, though the same English word also refers to the earth and the heavens (when combined with "heavens," v. 1), and to dry land (v. 10).
In this verse we learn that the earth was "a formless and desolate emptiness" (a hendiadys meaning unorganized, unproductive, and uninhabited), before God graciously prepared it for human habitation (cf. Isa. 45:18; Jer. 4:23-27).[69] (A hendiadys is a figure of speech in which the writer expresses a single complex idea by joining two substantives with "and," rather than by using an adjective and a substantive.) Various English translations have rendered this expression "formless and void," "formless and empty," and "without shape and empty."
"… no clear biblical text testifies to the origins of chaos [the formless and desolate condition] or of the Serpent [3:1], nor to the reason for their existence."[70]
"The Hebrew word [for "darkness"] simply means “darkness,” but in the Bible it has come to symbolize what opposes God, such as judgment (Exod 10:21), death (Ps 88:13), oppression (Isa 9:1), the wicked (1 Sam 2:9) and in general, sin. In Isa 45:7 it parallels “evil.” It is a fitting cover for the primeval waste, but it prepares the reader for the fact that God is about to reveal himself through his works."[71]
"Deep" (Heb. tehom) describes the water-covered planet. In the Old Testament, tehom refers to the ocean(s), which the ancient world regarded as symbolic of chaos and evil, which needed overcoming and which Yahweh overcame. However its use in the Pentateuch helps us understand the writer's intent in using this term here.
"The thirty-five usages of tehom and its derivative forms in the Old Testament reveal that it is generally 'a poetic term for a large body of water'."[72]
"… he [Moses] calls the global ocean (the 'deep') in 1:2 a 'desert.' This is not apparent in the English translation 'formless,' but the NASB notes it in the margin as a 'wasteland.' Moses uses this term (Deut 32:10) to describe the desert wasteland where Israel wandered for forty years. Why call an ocean a desert? What better way to teach the people that the God who will lead them out of the wilderness and give them the promised land is the same God who once prepared the land for them by dividing the waters and producing the 'dry land'? The God of the Pentateuch is One who leads his people from the wasteland to the promised land."[73]
Some scholars believe that references to "the Spirit" of God in the Old Testament indicate the power or influence of God, not the Third Person of the Trinity. Some conservative scholars believe that, even though the Spirit has always been the Third Person of the Trinity, people living during the Old Testament period did not associate the Spirit with God Himself. They supposedly thought of the Spirit as a power or influence of God. But there are several indications in the Old Testament that some informed Israelites identified "the Spirit" as God (cf. Gen. 1:2; 2 Kings 2:9; Ps. 104:30; Ezek. 3:12-14; 11:1; Zech. 4:6).[74] Alexander Hislop has shown that many of the ancient religions believed in a three-in-one god.[75]
On the basis of comparison with Deuteronomy 32:11 and the Aqhat Epic [a Canaanite myth], W. F. Albright believed that "hovering over" would better read "soaring," like an eagle.[76] Moses pictured the Holy Spirit as a wind—the words are identical in Hebrew—moving over the unorganized creation. As God did His work of creating by means of His Spirit, so also we believers in Jesus Christ are to do our work by His Spirit (Zech. 4:6; Rom. 8; Eph. 5:18).
"Waters" is also capable of being interpreted the same way as "deep." It probably refers to what covered the earth, but it also implies chaos.
"Hitherto all is static, lifeless, immobile. Motion, which is the essential element in change, originates with God's dynamic presence."[77]
"We should not be averse [opposed] to holding that the foundation for all physical laws operative in the world now was held by this preparatory activity."[78]
Verse 2 seems to me to describe conditions that existed before God created the earth. Whereas verse 1 summarizes the entire creation of the universe, verse 2 pictures its pre-creation condition. Verses 3 through 31 explain the process of creation by which God formed what was formless and filled what was void.
There are two basic theories of the creation process that have grown out of interpretations of verse 2:
The gap theory
Statement: The classic statement of this theory—there have been variations of it—contains the following elements:
1. There is an indefinite time gap—hence the name of the theory—between 1:1 and 1:2.
2. Verse 1 reveals the creation of a perfect heaven and earth very different from what we see around us now.
3. A pre-adamic race of humans inhabited this original creation.
4. Lucifer (unfallen Satan), whose "headquarters" was in the Garden of Eden, ruled over this race of people.
5. When Lucifer rebelled—many advocates see this in Isaiah 14 and/or Ezekiel 28—sin entered the world.
6. Part of God's judgment of this rebellion was the destruction of the earth with a flood (in Noah's day) followed by a global ice age, which accounts for the fossils.[79]
History: This is a very old theory that certain early Jewish writers and some church fathers held. Thomas Chalmers promoted it in 1814.[80] Chalmers' purpose was to harmonize Scripture with science.[81] Charles Darwin's Origin of Species first appeared in 1859, but Chalmers published his theory earlier, in 1814. Franz Delitzsch supported it in 1899.[82] G. H. Pember's book Earth's Ancient Ages, published in 1884, gave further impetus to this view. Many Christian geologists favored the view because they saw in it "an easy explanation for the fossil strata."[83] Harry Rimmer supported it,[84] as did J. N. Darby,[85] Arno Gaebelein,[86] and Arthur W. Pink.[87] Lewis Sperry Chafer held it,[88] but he did not emphasize it. Arthur Custance is one writer who has defended it fairly recently.[89]
Arguments for and responses to this view:
1. The first word in verse 2 (Heb. waw, "and") is a conjunction that indicates consecutive occurrences. (This verbal form, by the way, is the basic characteristic of narrative in the Hebrew Bible.[90]) Waw introduces something that happened after what precedes. Response. The verb tense and word order in this sentence do not permit this use of this conjunction (vv. 1-2). Rather here, as is normal, the conjunction indicates a break in the consecutive order of events and introduces a circumstantial (independent) clause (v. 2) that describes something in a preceding clause (v. 1). This is a waw disjunctive, not a waw consecutive. A better translation of the waw would be "now," as some English translations have it (e.g., the NIV, the TNIV, and the HCSB)[91]. In short, the Hebrew grammar does not support a chronological gap between verses 1 and 2.
2. The verb (hayata, "was") can and should read "became." The translators have rendered it this way in many other places in the Old Testament. Response. This is a legitimate translation, but "became" is not always the best translation (cf. Jonah 3:3; Zech. 3:3). Here the translation should be "was."
3. The chaos (tohu wa bohu, "a formless and desolate emptiness") describes an evil condition (cf. Isa. 24:1; 45:18; Jer. 4:23). Response. This is usually the case, but not always (cf. Deut. 32:10; Job 6:18; 12:24; 26:7; Ps. 107:40). It is not so here.
4. "Darkness" is a symbol of evil in Scripture (cf. 1 John 1:5; et al.). This supports the badness of the condition that resulted from Satan's rebellion. Response. This is true in some cases but not always (cf. Ps. 104:19-24). Furthermore, "evening," with its darkness, was part of the days that God declared "good."
5. The two primary words for "create" (bara' and asah, used respectively in 1:1 and 1:25) refer to two different kinds of creativity. Bara' usually refers to primary creative activity. Since Moses used bara' in 1:1, this was the original creation—and not just a general description of the process that follows (in 1:3-5 or 1:3-31). If 1:1 were a general description, he would have used asah, since some of what God created in the six days He formed out of previously existing material (e.g., man and woman). Response. These two words are not so distinct. For example, Moses used bara' of the creation of man out of previously existing material (1:27), and he used asah of the whole creation as the primary creative activity of God (Exod. 20:11). Furthermore, he used bara' of the creation of some animals (1:21) and asah of the creation of other animals (1:25). The real difference between these two words is that Moses used bara' only of divine activity, and he used asah of both divine and human activities.[92] Thus bara' and asah are very close together in meaning. We should not distinguish them on the basis of bara' describing primary creative activity and asah referring to the reforming of previously existing material.
6. Adam was to "replenish" the earth (1:28, AV), implying a previous race. Response. The Hebrew word used means "fill," not "refill." Many modern English translations so render it.
Summary: Though many evangelicals still hold the gap theory, few Hebrew scholars do, because the Hebrew grammar does not favor a chronologically sequential reading of verses 1 and 2. Rather, verse 2 in some way clarifies verse 1.[93]
The no-gap theory
The crux of the verse 2 interpretive problem lies in the identification of the chaos (tohu wa bohu, "a formless and desolate emptiness") mentioned in this verse. There have been three primary views concerning this condition:
1. The chaos was a condition that resulted after God judged the earth that He had originally created good.[94]
Explanation: Verse 1 refers to God's original creation of the universe. Verse 2 is a reference to the form that He gave it thereafter. Verse 3 refers to the beginning of the process of reforming the judged earth into the form in which we know it.
Vocabulary: We should translate the first word in the verse (waw) "and" or "then" (not preferable grammatically) and the verb (hayeta) "became" (possible but not preferable). We should interpret the chaos (tohu wa bohu) as an evil condition (not necessarily so).
Sequence: This interpretation permits, but does not require, a gap in time between verses 1 and 2.
2. The chaos was the condition that characterized the earth when God created it good.[95]
Explanation: Verse 1 states the creation of the universe as we know it, and it is a general statement of creation. Verse 2 describes the earth at the time of its creation. Verse 3 describes God bringing order out of chaos, which continued through the six creative days.
Vocabulary: We should translate waw "now" (better) and hayeta "was" (also better). We should also take tohu wa bohu to mean either unformed or evil.
Sequence: This interpretation involves no gap in time between verses 1 and 2.
3. The chaos existed before God began creating the earth good.[96]
Explanation: We should take verse 1 the same as in view 2. Verse 2 describes conditions as they existed before creation. We should also take verse 3 the same as in view 2.
Vocabulary: Advocates translate and interpret the key Hebrew words the same as in view 2.
Sequence: This interpretation involves no gap in time between verses 1 and 2.
"… the disjuncture at v 2 is employed by the author to focus his creation account upon the land."[97]
The more popular theory among evangelicals now is the no-gap theory in either one of the last two forms described above. Let me restate these last two views:
1. View 2 above: God created the earth in a formless and void state. He then proceeded to give it form and to fill it.
"We would affirm that the first verse serves as a broad comprehensive statement of the fact of creation. Verse two describes the earth as it came from the hands of the Creator and as it existed at the time when God commanded the light to shine forth. The first recorded step in the process of fashioning the earth into the form in which it now appears was God's remarkable utterance, 'Let there be light' [verse 3]."[98]
Problem: It seems unusual that God would create the earth formless and then form it. It seems more likely and consistent with His activity in verses 3 through 31 that He would create it fully formed.[99]
Answer: The whole process of creation in verses 3 through 31 is a movement from a more primitive to a more advanced stage of existence. I prefer this view.
2. View 3 above: Before God created the earth there was nothing where it now exists, and verse 2 describes that nothingness.[100]
Problem: Some terms in verse 2 ("darkness," "surface," "deep," "waters") imply that something existed at this time, suggesting some creative activity before verse 3.
Answers: Verse 1 may be part of the first day of creation. Moses may have used these terms to describe—in terms that we can begin to understand (i.e., figurative terms)—a condition that is entirely foreign and incomprehensible to us.
3. The six days of creation 1:3-31
Explaining the bringing of cosmic order out of chaos involved clearly separating the various elements of the universe. God divided light and darkness, waters and dry land, the world above from the world below. Likewise people should observe and maintain other divisions in the universe, such as things that God has separated in the moral realm.[101]
In the first three "days" God made the uninhabitable earth productive, and in the last three "days" He filled the uninhabited earth with life. The process of creation, as Moses described it, typically follows this pattern for each day of creation: announcement, commandment, separation, report, naming, evaluation, and chronological framework.[102]
One writer believed in six literal 24-hour days of creation and sought to harmonize them with an old age earth model, allowing a long period of time (possibly billions of years) between verses 2 and 3.[103] But this explanation does violence to the Hebrew text.[104]
The first day 1:3-5
1:3 This verse begins with an astounding revelation. The world came into being by God's spoken word (cf. Ps. 33:9; Heb. 11:3). Each of the six creative days began with God speaking.
"The phrases 'the Lord said', 'the Lord spake', 'the word of the Lord came', are actually used 3,808 times in the Old Testament."[105]
This is a powerful testimony to the authority of the spoken word of God and the written Word of God: Scripture.
"The goal of divine action is to maintain and to create life; to achieve this aim Yahweh chiefly avails himself of two means which we encounter in varying intensities in all the realms of his manifestation: the Spirit [v. 2] and the Word."[106]
"The creation of light on the first day by word of mouth (Gen. 1:3-5) is without parallel in Mesopotamian and Egyptian mythology."[107]
God's ten pronouncements in this chapter anticipate His ten commandments at Mt. Sinai (Exod. 20:2-17). All but one of Jesus Christ's miracles occurred immediately after He spoke. (The exception occurs in Mark 8:25 when He laid His hands on a blind man.) Jesus Christ, the Word of God, was God's agent in creation; He was the Creator (John 1:3). The theme of God's word (spoken, written, or incarnate) continues throughout the Bible. His word is consistently powerful, as here. Fiat (the Latin word for "Let there be") creation means creation that came into being by God's word.
"The idea of creation by the word preserves first of all the most radical essential distinction between Creator and creature. Creation cannot be even remotely considered an emanation from God; it is not somehow an overflow or reflection of his being, i.e., of his divine nature, but is rather a product of his personal will."[108]
"This creative word is different from any human word; it is not 'empty' (Gen. 32:47 [sic 37:24]; Isa. 55:11), but powerful and of the highest creative potency. In the second place, therefore, this conception contains the knowledge that the world wholly belongs to God; it is the creation of his will, and he is its Lord."[109]
The "light" might not have been sunlight (cf. v. 14). One view is that perhaps this light came from a source fixed at a distance from the earth, such as the shekinah, the light that manifests and represents God's glory (cf. Rev. 22:5).[110]
"The eternal city will enjoy endless light without the help of the sun or moon (Rev. 22:5), so why couldn't there be light at the beginning of time before the luminaries were made?"[111]
A second view is that perhaps God created the sun on the first day, but it's light became visible on the fourth day.[112]
"The week thus begins with the sunrise in v. 3, 'and there was light.'"[113]
A third view is that God created the sun, moon, and stars on the first day and assigned them their specific functions on the fourth day (cf. vv. 14-18).[114]
"The Oriental … did not think of light and darkness exclusively in connection with the heavenly bodies (Job 38:19-20)."[115]
Another principle theme of the Bible appears in this verse: God is the One who brings light into darkness. Here He produced physical light, but later He sent His Son to be the Light of the World (John 8:12). In the future there will be no darkness at all (Rev. 21:23).[116]
1:4 "Darkness" was not a creation, like light, but rather the absence of light (cf. v. 2). As previously noted, "darkness" (Heb. hosek) in Scripture often connotes evil (cf. Exod. 10:21-23; 1 Sam. 2:9; Job 3:4, 5; Ps. 35:6; Joel 2:2).
The Hebrew word translated "good" (tob) refers more to purpose and harmony (i.e., in keeping with God's will) than to aesthetic beauty.[117] Moses presented God as wise, knowing what was good for man, and as loving, providing good things for him. This not only reveals aspects of the Creator's character, but it also prepares the reader for the tragedy of the Fall (ch. 3).
1:5 God named things—"called" them such and such—in addition to creating them. Having a name equals having existence, as people in biblical times thought, and the act of giving a name meant the exercise of a sovereign right (cf. 41:45; 2 Kings 24:17; Dan. 1:7). In this chapter, naming or blessing follows some act of creation seven times. The Israelites regarded the number "seven" as connoting a complete, divine act, as will become clearer later in the Pentateuch.
The terms "day," "night," "evening," and "morning" imply the beginning of the earth's rotation on the first day.[118] The use of the Hebrew word 'ehad ("one" [first] day; cf. "second day," "third day," etc.) as an ordinal number also supports this view.[119] The Jews reckoned the beginning of a day with the evening (the setting of the sun) rather than the morning (the rising of the sun). It is probable, therefore, that by "evening" Moses meant "beginning," and that by "morning" he meant "ending."
"A few years ago in England some Christians became excited about the Big Bang theory, thinking that it favored Christianity. But they really missed the point—either the point of Scripture or the Big Bang theory or both. The simple fact is that what is given in Genesis 1:1 has no relationship to the Big Bang theory—because from the scriptural viewpoint, the primal creation goes back beyond the basic material or energy. We have a new thing created by God out of nothing [Lat. ex nihilo] by fiat [formal decree], and this is the distinction."[120]
Nevertheless, though it is not the same, "The Big Bang theory sounds very much like the story that the Old Testament has been telling a long time."[121]
From the beginning God made divisions. He later divided the clean from the unclean, the holy from the unholy, the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, and Israel from the nations. This shows His sovereignty (ultimate authority). And it shows that He intended that some things should remain separate and distinct from other things. This is important to note since some radicals advocate that we should do away with all distinctions under the banner of "equality."[122]
The second day 1:6-8
1:6 The "expanse" (Heb. raqia') refers to the heavens above the earth (lit. "something stretched out"; i.e., the sky, comprising the atmosphere, the solar system, and the universe beyond). Some English translators have rendered this Hebrew word "firmament" (AV, from the Latin firmamentum), or "vault" (TNIV). God placed the sun, moon, and stars in it (vv. 16-17). The ancients grouped the stars and planets together, referring to the former as fixed stars and the latter as wandering stars (cf. Jude 13).
1:7 God "separated the waters" so that some of them remained on the earth in a liquid state, and some remained above the earth as moisture in the atmosphere, probably as clouds—but not as a celestial ocean of solid water above the earth.[123] Before God made this division there may have been a dense fog over the whole surface of the earth.[124]
1:8 "Heaven" is the same as the "expanse." Moses used "heaven" here as a general term to describe everything above the earth from man's viewpoint (v. 8).
The third day 1:9-13
1:9 "The waters below the heavens" (Heb. yammim) probably refers broadly to all bodies of water, not just oceans. Gathering them into one place does not mean that all the bodies of water were one huge ocean necessarily, but that God separated the bodies of water on the earth from the dry land on the earth.
"… what we call geologic formations took place in titanic and gigantic measure at a vastly accelerated pace in a truly miraculous creative work as astounding as the rest."[125]
1:10 The separation of water from the land, so that man could enjoy the land, prepares us for the stories of the Flood (chs. 6—9) and the Red Sea crossing (Exod. 14—15). God later used the waters as His instrument to judge those who opposed His will. The "waters" were an obstacle to man's enjoying the land, so God removed them from the land. Even though the Hebrew word 'eres ("earth") appears in both this verse and verse 1, it does not refer to the same thing in both cases. In verse 1 it refers to the entire planet, but in this verse it refers to dry land in contrast to oceans.[126]
"Good" (Heb. tob) indicates beauty as well as purpose and order. Here it is not good as opposed to evil, since evil was then unknown, but good in the sense of pleasing to God.[127] It was only when the land was ready for man that God called it good. This shows God's loving concern for human beings. The land was good for people. A good God provided a good land for good people.
1:11 Moses described the "plants yielding seed, and fruit trees … bearing fruit according to their kind with seed in them." Perhaps he did so because these are the plants that provide food and shelter for man. He created others, of course, but Moses may have been stressing God's care for humans. Another possibility is that "plants" and "trees" encompass all "vegetation."
Since God created "plants yielding seed" the original creation evidently had the appearance of age.[128] He created trees with rings and Adam as an adult.[129] The presence of "seed" also shows that God intended the vegetation to reproduce.
1:12-13 "Kind" (Heb. min) is not a biologically exact term. It indicates that God created several different families of plants as separate acts of creation (cf. vv. 21, 24-25; 6:20; 7:14; Lev. 11:14-29; Deut. 14:13-18). All plants, therefore, did not evolve from one. Creationists generally affirm microevolution (the development of different varieties of plants and animals through crossbreeding), but deny macroevolution (the development of all plants from one plant, animals from plants, and humans from animals).[130]
"With the conclusion of the third day yet another color is added to God's cosmos. To the basic white and black of day and night has been added the blue of sky and sea. Now the canvas is adorned with green. The golden-yellow sun and the reddish human being will complete this rainbow of colors."[131]
Note that on the first and second days God did one creative work each day: He created light and the firmament. On the third day He did two works: He created the land and vegetation. Similarly, on the fourth and fifth days, God did one work each day: He created the lights and their functions on the fourth day, and the birds and fish on the fifth day. Then on the sixth day He again did two works: He created the land animals and man.[132] On the first three days He gave form to what was formless, and on the last three days He filled what was empty (cf. v. 1). On the first three days He created motionless objects, and on the last three days He created objects that move or appear to move.
"Both vegetation and humanity, symbolizing the fertility of life, were considered pinnacles of creation in the ancient Near East. The first triad [of days] ends climactically with the creation of vegetation; the second, the creation of humanity."[133]
The fourth day 1:14-19
1:14-15 "… the Hebrew text reads, 'And God said, "Let the lights in the expanse of the sky be for separating.…"' In other words, in v. 14 God's command assumes that the lights are already in the expanse, and in response to his command the lights are given a purpose, namely, 'to separate the day from the night' and 'to mark the seasons and days and years.'"[134]
"The term 'signs' has been given special attention by the author elsewhere in the Pentateuch. For example, the so-called 'plagues' of Egypt are, in fact, called 'signs' by the author of the Pentateuch (e.g., Deut 29:2-3). The meaning given this term in the Exod account … is that the acts of God in the bringing of disorder upon the Egyptians were 'signs' that God was more powerful and majestic than the Egyptians' gods. This sense of the term 'signs' fits well in Gen 1:14. The author says that not only are the sun and moon to give light upon the land but they are to be visual reminders of the power and majesty of God. They are 'signs' of who the God of the covenant is. The [sic They] are 'telling of the glory of God,' as the psalmist puts it (Ps 19:1). Not only does the term 'signs' serve as a reminder of the greatness and glory of God for the author of the Pentateuch, 'signs' are also a frequent reminder in the Pentateuch of his grace and mercy (Gen 4, 9, 17)."[135]
Moses did not mean that these signs were the signs of the zodiac or astrological signs.
"The narrative stresses their function as servants, subordinate to the interests of the earth … This differs significantly from the superstitious belief within pagan religion that the earth's destiny is dictated by the course of the stars."[136]
"Here is a stern warning for our times for any who would seek the stars in charting their lives."[137]
The Hebrew word translated "seasons" appears elsewhere in the Pentateuch. It means "appointments," but the translators have also rendered it "feasts" in Leviticus.
"They [the sun and moon] were not mere lights or reminders of God's glory, they were, as well, calendars for the celebration of the covenant. The world is made for the [Mosaic] covenant. Already at creation, the land was being prepared for the covenant."[138]
1:16 Why did Moses use the terms "greater" and "lesser light(s)" to describe the sun and moon? He probably did so, not just because of their relative size, but because these Hebrew words, which are very similar in other Semitic languages, are also the names of pagan gods.[139] He wanted the Israelites to appreciate the fact that their God had created the entities their pagan neighbors worshipped as gods.
"… the biblical creation story gives the stars only the barest mention, as though the writer shrugged and said, 'And, oh, yes. He also made the stars.'"[140]
1:17 The writer's perspective throughout is earth-oriented. He used phenomenological language (of appearance) that is very common in the Old Testament. Even modern scientific textbooks use such language without fear of being criticized as unscientific—when they refer to "sunrise," "sunset," etc. Moses and the other biblical writers did not believe that the earth was at the center of the universe and that the sun revolved around the earth.
"Where has the interpretation arisen that the Bible presents [such] a geocentric picture? This arose in the post-New Testament times when leading theologians adopted the Ptolemaic cosmology of the second century AD and interpreted the Bible on the basis of this nonbiblical cosmology."[141]
1:18-19 Probably God created light on the first day (v. 3), but then on the fourth day the sun, moon, and stars appeared distinctly for the first time.[142] Another view is that, since God did not create the sun and moon until the fourth day, we should understand the "days" of creation as longer than 24-hour days.[143] Still another view is that God created the sun, moon, and stars on the first day, but they did not become bearers of light (luminaries) until the fourth day.[144]
"This, the fourth day, is the only day on which no divine word subsequent to the fulfillment is added. On days 1-3 this divine word names the created objects (vv 5, 8, 10); on days 5-6 the creatures are blessed (vv 22, 28). The omission may be just elegant stylistic variation, or it may be a deliberate attempt to avoid naming 'sun' and 'moon' with their connotations of deity."[145]
To summarize, the luminaries (lights, objects that shine) served four purposes.
1. They distinguished day from night.
2. They provided signs.
3. They distinguished the seasons.
4. They illuminated the earth.
Creationists have proposed several solutions to the problem of how light from stars, that are millions of light-years away, could get to Adam if the universe was only days old. These explanations are too involved to discuss here, but I have included some sources for further study in the following footnote.[146] I think the best explanation is the appearance of age. As God created humans, plants, and animals fully formed, so He created the light from distant stars already visible on the earth.
The fifth day 1:20-23
1:20 On the fifth day God created living creature to live in the water and birds to fly above the earth.
1:21 The "great sea creatures" (Heb. tauninim) were large fish, whales, squid, and all large creatures living in the water (cf. Ps. 104:25-26). The pagans worshipped these, but they are under God's authority. The Old Testament writers adopted pagan imagery, but not pagan theology. The selection of these large creatures for mention may also have been for the purpose of balance: to show that God made all creatures, great and small.[147] Again, He created various "kinds" of these creatures (cf. vv. 11-12). These creatures too He evaluated as "good" (cf. vv. 10, 12, 18).
1:22-23 Interestingly this first mention of God's blessing ("God blessed them") refers to fish and birds! These creatures also had the capability to reproduce themselves (cf. v. 12). Birds and fish rule their respective realms by multiplying.[148]
"The blessing of God is one of the great unifying themes of Genesis. God blesses animals (1:22), mankind (1:28), the Sabbath (2:3), Adam (5:2), Noah (9:1), and frequently the patriarchs (12:2-3; 17:16, 20, etc.). God's blessing is most obviously visible in the gift of children, as this is often coupled with 'being fruitful and multiplying.' But all aspects of life can express this blessing: crops, family, and nation (Deut 28:1-14). Where modern man talks of success, OT man talked of blessing."[149]
Note that Moses wrote that God created both marine animals and birds on the same "day." Evolution claims that birds evolved from reptiles, and that this process took millions of years.
The sixth day 1:24-31
1:24-25 "Creature[s]" translates the Hebrew word nephesh, which is usually translated "soul" (e.g., 2:7). This Hebrew word, and the English "soul," imply conscious life, in contrast to plants that have unconscious life. So in the sense of having conscious life, animals as well as people have souls. "Livestock" refers to domesticated animals (that man could tame), and "animals" refers to wild animals.
What happened to the dinosaurs? Conservative Bible interpreters generally believe they existed, having been created along with the other animals, but that they became extinct, either before the Flood or after it. One opinion is as follows:
"Before the Flood, dinosaurs and man lived together on our planet. Extinction of the great marine reptiles, along with the majority of all other types of sea creature, would have been caused by the violent upheavals of the Flood, many being buried and preserved as fossils."[150]
1:26 "Us" is probably a plural of intensification (or potentiality or majesty; see my comment on verse 1 above), though some regard it as a plural of self-deliberation (cf. 11:7; Ps. 2:3).[151] Others believe that God was addressing His heavenly court (cf. Isa. 6:8).[152] However "us" does not include the angels, since God made man in His image alone, not also in the image of angels. "Us" gives us another hint—and it is only a hint at this point—that God is a triune being (cf. v. 1, "Elohim"). As Scripture unfolds it becomes clear that God is indeed a triune being. God the Father may have been addressing the other two members of the Trinity. (This is an anthropomorphism: a description of God in human terms, in this case doing something that humans do.[153]) However we should not use this verse as a formal proof of the Trinity, since this reference by itself does not prove that one God exists in three persons.[154]
"Although the Christian Trinity cannot be derived solely from the use of the plural, a plurality within the unity of the Godhead may be derived from the passage."[155]
The theological controversy in Moses' day was not between trinitarianism and unitarianism but between one self-existent, sovereign, good God—and many limited, capricious, often wicked gods.[156]
Some feminists have restricted the use of "man" (v. 26; AV and some other translations) to males, but this is not the primary meaning of the English word. Its primary meaning is "human being" or "human race," according to the standard Oxford dictionaries. Likewise "mankind" normally means "the human race" or "humanity," unless it is in contrast to "womankind." The Hebrew word adam also has a broad range of meanings, from "the human race" to "Adam." Consequently I have used these English words, trusting that the reader will interpret them in harmony with their customary meanings.
What does being made in the image of God involve? We can learn this from the context. God created all the plants and animals with the capacity to reproduce "after their (or its) kind" (vv. 11, 12 [twice], 21, 24 [twice], 25 [twice]). Oak trees bring forth little oak trees, dogs reproduce little dogs, etc. Likewise, a personal God created persons.[157]
But man was also made to rule "over all the earth" (the plants and animals, v. 28). So God not only created mankind (male and female, v. 27) with the ability to "be fruitful and multiply" (v. 28), but He created human beings so that they could also carry out His desires. Thus the image of God involves the capacity to interact with God in order to serve as His representative ruler on earth.[158]
"Morally responsible personality is what is meant by 'the image of God.' … Personality involves three things: self-consciousness, reasoning power, and moral sense. In other words, any being that can say to himself: 'I am, I ought, I will,' is made in the image of God."[159]
Parents not only produce a child physically, but they normally desire that their child will carry out their desires. The child bears the image or likeness of the parent both in how he or she looks and in how he or she behaves, that is, in his or her obedience to the will of the parent. Children who follow in their parents' footsteps by their obedience really reflect the image of their parents. Just so, Adam and Eve were created to represent God by carrying out His desires and will and so reveal His image.
"Image and likeness, means an image which is like. The simple declaration of the Scripture is that man at his creation was like God."[160]
"Image" and "likeness" are essentially synonymous terms.[161] Both indicate personality, moral, and spiritual qualities that God and man share (i.e., self-consciousness, God-consciousness, freedom, responsibility, speech, moral discernment, etc.) These distinguish humans from the animals, which have no God-consciousness even though they have conscious life. Some writers have called the image of God man's "spiritual personality."[162] In another sense man is the image of God (e.g., he rules and creates as God does, under God's authority, thus reflecting God).[163] The Fall obscured but did not obliterate the image of God in man (cf. 9:6).[164]
"What is the image of God in man? The traditional view is that God's image is certain moral, ethical, and intellectual abilities. A more recent view, based on Hebrew grammar and the knowledge of the ancient Middle East, interprets the phrase as meaning 'Let us make man as our image' (the Hebrew preposition in this phrase can be translated as). In ancient times an emperor might command statues of himself to be placed in remote parts of his empire. These symbols would declare that these areas were under his power and reign. So God placed humankind as living symbols of Himself on earth to represent His reign. This interpretation fits well with the command that follows—to reign over all that God has made."[165]
Does the image of God in man include man's body?
"Most theologians have recognized that that [sic] we cannot interpret it [i.e., the phrase 'the image of God'] literally—that is, that man's physical being is in the image of God. Such an interpretation should be rejected for at least four reasons. In the first place, we are told elsewhere that God is a spirit (John 4:24; Isa. 31:3) and that he is ubiquitous [present everywhere] (1 Kgs. 8:27). In the second place, a literal interpretation would leave us with all sorts of bizarre questions. If man's physical being is in the image of God we would immediately wonder what, if any organs, God possesses. Does he have sexual organs, and if so, which? Does he have the form of a man, or of a woman, or both? The very absurdity that God is a sexual being renders this interpretation highly unlikely. Thirdly, it seems unlikely that man's dignity above the rest of the animals (Gen. 9:5 f.; Jas. 3:7-9) is due to his slight physiological differences from them. Is it credible that animals may be killed but that man may not be killed because his stature is slightly different? Finally, a literal interpretation seems not only contradictory to the rest of Scripture, and unlikely, but also inappropriate, Gardener aptly observed: 'But our anatomy and physiology is demanded by our terrestrial habitat, and quite inappropriate to the one who inhabits eternity.' For these reasons, theologians have concluded that the statement in Genesis 1:26-28 must be metaphorical of man's spiritual or immaterial nature."[166]
"… although God's glory shines forth in the outer man, yet there is no doubt that the proper seat of his image is in the soul."[167]
"People are created as (not in) the image of God so that they can have dominion over all things as God's surrogates (1:26-28; see also Ps. 8)."[168]
"First, God's deliberation [in v. 26] shows that he has decided to create man differently from any of the other creatures—in his image and likeness. God and man share a likeness that is not shared by other creatures. This apparently means that a relationship of close fellowship can exist between God and man that is unlike the relationship of God with the rest of his creation. What more important fact about God and man would be necessary if the covenant at Sinai were, in fact, to be a real relationship? Remove this and the covenant is unthinkable.[169]
"Secondly, in Gen 1, man, the image bearer, is the object of God's blessing. According to the account of creation in Gen 1, the chief purpose of God in creating man is to bless him. The impact of this point on the remainder of the Pentateuch and the author's view of Sinai is clear: through Abraham, Israel and the covenant this blessing is to be restored to all mankind."[170]
People ("them") are to rule over all that God has made (fish, birds, cattle, etc.) as God would: wisely and prudently.
"Whatever true scientific endeavor has produced comes under this broad charter which the Creator has given to man."[171]
1:27 "Man" refers to mankind, not Adam individually. "Them" indicates this generic significance. God "created" (cf. v. 1) mankind male and female; they did not evolve from a lower form of life (cf. Matt. 19:4; Mark 10:6). Adam and Eve were not androgynous (two individuals joined physically like Siamese twins), or each of them a hermaphrodite (one individual possessing both male and female sexual organs). There is no basis for these bizarre ideas in the text. God formed Eve from Adam's rib (2:21), not from half of his body or from his genitals.
"The image is found in the type of relationship that was designed to exist between male and female human beings, a relationship where the characteristics of each sex are valued and used to form a oneness in their identity and purpose. When God created human beings as male and female he formed them to exhibit a oneness in their relationship that would resemble the relationship of God and his heavenly court."[172]
"By ruling as one, male and female fulfill the purpose of God for which they were created. United as one humanity, male and female are one with God and his heavenly court. And it is this unity between male and female, and between humanity and God, that is destroyed in the Fall described in Genesis 3."[173]
As a husband and wife demonstrate oneness in their marriage, they reflect the unity of the Godhead. Oneness involves being in agreement with God's will and purposes. Oneness is essential for an orchestra, an athletic team, and a construction crew, as well as a family, to achieve a common purpose. Oneness in marriage is essential if husband and wife are to fulfill God's purposes for humankind. (Generally speaking, women feel a marriage is working if they talk about it, but men feel it is working if they do not talk about it.)
God created mankind male and female as an expression of His own plurality: "Let us make mankind" (v. 26). God's plurality anticipated man's plurality. The human relationship between man and woman thus reflects God's own relationship with Himself.[174]
This verse may be the first poem in the Bible. If so, the shift from prose to poetry may emphasize human beings as God's image bearers, the shift in genre indicating the importance of what is being said. There is some disagreement among Old Testament scholars regarding what distinguishes biblical poetry from biblical prose, so the genre of this verse is debatable.[175]
1:28 Note that God's blessing of man finds expression in terms of posterity that connotes the ideas of seed and life, two prominent themes as Genesis and the whole Bible unfold.[176] God's blessing enables humanity to fulfill its twofold destiny: to procreate (in spite of death), and to rule (in spite of enemies). Blessing denotes all that fosters human fertility and assists in achieving dominion.[177]
Interpreters have generally recognized the commands to "be fruitful and multiply" as commands to Adam and Eve (and later to Noah, 9:1) as the heads of the human race, not simply as individuals. That is, most interpreters believe that God has not charged every human being with begetting children. This seems clear from the fact that God has made many men and women incapable of reproducing.[178] Consequently one should not appeal to this command as support for the view that God wants all people to bear as many children as they possibly can. This verse is a "cultural mandate," not an individual mandate. It was to Adam and Eve as heads of the human race that God gave this command, not simply to them as individuals.
"This command, like others in Scripture, carries with it an implicit promise that God will enable man to fulfill it."[179]
Sexual union is God's ordained method of implementing His command to multiply descendants. Consequently sex is essentially good. When God gave this command Adam and Eve were in an unfallen condition. Therefore the descendants they would produce would have been godly. It is particularly a godly seed that God has charged the human race to raise up. Likewise He commanded Noah and his wife, who were both righteous, to be fruitful (9:1).
God did not make men or women emotionally, spiritually, or physically capable of raising children without a marriage partner. Consequently single parents struggle. As children observe both godly parents modeling a harmonious marriage, they learn to appreciate their own sexual identity, the roles of husband and wife, and unconditional love. Unconditional love is necessary for a harmonious marriage.
"Subdue" and "rule," the second aspect of this mandate, imply a degree of sovereignty and control that God delegated to mankind over nature.[180] This constitutes God's "Magna Carta" for all true scientific and material progress (cf. v. 26).[181] God commanded Adam and Eve to acquire knowledge so they could master their environment, to bring all its elements into the service of the human race.
"The dominion which man enjoyed in the Garden of Eden was a direct consequence of the image of God in him."[182]
"Why this need to subjugate the earth? There are at least four possibilities: (1) Sin would ruin the earth, and people would have to expend great effort to live there (see 3:17-19). (2) Satan would defy the will of God and make all good efforts difficult. (3) The earth left to itself would not remain good. Instead, God planned that people would need to manage and control it. (4) The beauty of the earth was only in the garden that God planted (see 2:8); the rest of the earth would be hostile. Whatever the case, subdue does not mean 'destroy' or 'ruin.' It does mean to 'act as managers who have the authority to run everything as God planned.' This command applies equally to male and female."[183]
This verse explains that God's purpose in creating human beings was that they should rule over the animal world, indeed, over all the rest of His creation. When Adam and Eve fell (3:6), they took themselves out from under God's authority and put themselves under Satan's authority. Today Satan is the authority under whom Adam and Eve's descendants live—until they come under God's authority. Nevertheless, God promised to raise up a descendant of the woman (Eve) who would conquer Satan and thereby enable humankind to fulfill the commission to rule under God's authority (3:15). In time, this Seed proved to be Jesus Christ, who will one day return to earth to subdue His enemies and rule over the creation, thus fulfilling this commission. This is really the story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.[184]
For a married couple, oneness in marriage is necessary in order to manage God's creation effectively.
"Our Christian proclamation of hope has antecedents in the theological soil of three divine programmatic expectations first heard in Genesis: (1) God will bless the human family with procreation and dominion (1:26-28); (2) he will achieve victory over mankind's enemy (3:15); and (3) he will bring about both through the offspring of Abraham (12:1-3)—namely, the one man Jesus Christ."[185]
We have in this verse the three essential elements of a divine dispensation (stewardship, household management): a divine revelation of God's will for human conduct, consequent human responsibility, and a period of time during which God tests people as to their obedience to this responsibility. A "dispensation" is a period of time during which God tests man in relation to his obedience to a specific revelation of God's will. The historical "dispensations" constitute a progressive, connected revelation of God's dealings with humankind. God gave some of them to the whole human race, and He gave some to a part of it (e.g., Israel). Dispensations are not separate ways of salvation; in every dispensation, man is saved by God's grace, because of the work of Jesus Christ. Before the Cross, people were saved in prospect of Christ's sacrifice—as on credit so to speak—by believing a revelation given to them by God. After the Cross, people are saved in retrospect of Christ's sacrifice, by believing the revelation that He satisfied God's just demands against sinners (1 John 2:2).
"The dispensational study of the Bible consists in the identification of certain well-defined time-periods which are divinely indicated, together with the revealed purpose of God relative to each."[186]
Whereas specific human responsibilities change as divine revelation unfolds, and dispensation succeeds dispensation, people have a continuing responsibility to live in the light of previous revelation. For example, even though the dispensation of the Mosaic Law has ended (Rom. 10:4), Christians are nevertheless helped to discharge their responsibilities to God by being aware of what God required of the Israelites under the Mosaic Law (cf. Rom. 15:4; 2 Tim. 3:16-17). The purpose of each dispensation has been to place people under a specific rule of conduct, not as a condition for salvation, but to demonstrate that people always fail to live up to God's standards and so need to accept the salvation that God extends to them as a gift. I believe that seven dispensations are distinguishable in Scripture, which are: (1) Innocence (Gen. 1:28); (2) Conscience (Gen. 3:7); (3) Human Government (Gen. 8:15); (4) Promise (Gen. 12:1); (5) Law (Exod. 19:1); (6) Church (Acts 2:1); and (7) Kingdom (Rev. 20:4).[187]
This verse marks the first dispensation: Innocence. God created man innocent, placed him in a perfect environment, subjected him to a simple test, and warned him of the consequences of disobedience. Adam did not have to sin, but he chose to do so. The serpent deceived Eve (cf. 2 Cor. 11:3), but Adam sinned deliberately (cf. 1 Tim. 2:14). This dispensation ended when God judged Adam and Eve guilty and expelled them from the Garden of Eden (3:24). We do not know how long after their creation our first parents fell.
Whereas many people incorrectly identify John Nelson Darby (1800-1882) as the founder of dispensationalism, historian Ernest Sandeen has shown that "the term should not be used as a shibboleth with which to distinguish Darbyites from other millenarians."[188]
"The system of dispensations is not primary in Darby's thought; and, furthermore, it is shared by many of Darby's opponents and by literally scores of others, some of whom were not millenarians at all."[189]
1:29-30 God gave man authority and responsibility to regulate nature and to advance civilization. Nature was to serve man, not vice versa. This does not give man the right to abuse nature however.[190] Neither does it justify giving animals and plants the "rights" of human beings.
"Man is the climax of creation, and instead of man providing the gods with food [as was common in the ancient world], God provided the plants as food for man (1:29)."[191]
Verse 29 suggests that man was originally a vegetarian. After the Flood, God told Noah that he could eat animals (9:3). Some believe that the animals may also have been herbivorous at first (v. 30).[192] Alternatively, some animals may have been carnivorous from the beginning. In this case, the death of some animals may have occurred before the Fall. Death was a judgment on humankind after the Fall, but it may have been part of what God called "good" before the Fall. It is argued that death is a result of moral evil.[193] But animals are incapable of moral evil. Perhaps nothing God created died before the Fall. The question of whether death existed before the Fall or not is one that the Bible does not give a definitive answer to.
1:31 This verse records the end of the sixth "day" of creation, and it summarizes the account of creation just given in chapter 1. Note that everything that God had made was "very good." This is in harmony with all of God's actions; He always and only does what is very good, because He is a good God.
"Some people ask, 'How can God be good when there is so much evil and suffering in the world?' The answer is that God made a perfect world and man messed it up!"[194]
Verses 27 through 31 are a general account of human creation. The more detailed account of the creation of Adam and Eve follows in 2:4 through 25. These two accounts do not necessarily reflect a two-document composition (two separate versions that differ) of the creation story, but they illustrate the writer's purpose. In chapter 1 he wanted to emphasize the creation of humankind in the larger context of the cosmic creation. The name elohim (lit. the strong one, translated "God") occurs over 30 times in this chapter, emphasizing that it was the powerful God who created everything. "Good" appears seven times in this chapter (vv. 4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31), highlighting the goodness of God in blessing His creation—especially mankind.
There are three major viewpoints regarding the origin of man as recorded in 1:26 through 31; 2:7; and 2:21 through 25.
1. Evolution (both Darwinian and neo-Darwinian) asserts that all living organisms developed from a single, simple cell through a process that took millions of years. This first cell resulted from the accumulation of chemical and protein elements that came together because of unknown change factors over a long period of time. This view contradicts Scripture, and it is not scientifically demonstrable.[195]
"… Mr. Darwin's theory is incapable of proof. From the nature of the case, what concerns the origin of things cannot be known except by a supernatural revelation. … Science as soon as she gets past the actual and the extant, is in the region of speculation, and is merged into philosophy, and is subject to all its hallucinations."[196]
"The assumptions of historical continuity and scientific naturalism are no more susceptible of genuine scientific proof than are Biblical catastrophism and supernaturalism."[197]
2. Theistic evolution attempts to blend Scripture and scientific theories. It holds that God ordered and directed the evolutionary process. This view fails to explain specific statements in the text of Scripture adequately, and it accommodates the text to scientific theory. The major problem with this view is that it is not completely true to either science or Scripture but is inconsistent.[198]
"In fact, theistic evolution is a contradiction in terms. It is just as destructive of faith in the Biblical doctrine of creation as naturalistic evolution is; and by calling in the creative activity of God time and again it also nullifies the evolutionary hypothesis."[199]
3. Special creation asserts that God produced the universe and all life forms through a series of supernatural acts. Some special creationists believe He did this in a relatively brief period of time. Others, such as progressive creationists, believe the creation process took thousands of years. This view gives primacy to the text of Scripture and interprets it more literally, historically, and grammatically.[200]
Progressive creationism is another view, but it is not as common as the three view described above. It teaches that God created the universe in several acts of creation that time periods of indefinite duration separated. The process of evolution was at work within these eras and accounts for the development of phyla, species, etc.[201] The following quotation distinguishes theistic evolution from progressive creationism:
"I do not believe in theistic evolution. Theistic evolution means simply that God guided the evolutionary process so that it is not to be explained on a purely naturalistic basis. It assumes that all living things, including man, are biologically descended from a common ancestor. By contrast with theistic evolution, Scripture indicates that God made different basic kinds of beings and that all existing plants and animals are not descended from a common ancestor."[202]
I do not believe that Scripture supports progressive creationism, as these notes will explain.
4. The seventh day 2:1-3
"2:1-3 echoes 1:1 by introducing the same phrases but in reverse order: 'he created,' 'God,' 'heavens and earth' reappear as 'heavens and earth' (2:1) 'God' (2:2), 'created' (2:3). This chiastic pattern brings the section to a neat close which is reinforced by the inclusion 'God created' linking 1:1 and 2:3."[203]
The mood of the narrative also returns to what it was in 1:1 and 2. Silence and calm prevail again.[204]
2:1 This verse is a concluding summary of God's creative work on the six days of creation. One English translation rendered the Hebrew word tsb's "lights" (NASB 2020 ed.). Other translations have "host" or "hosts" (AV, NASB 1971 ed., ESV, NKJV, RSV).[205] Still others have translated it "array" (NIV), "multitude" (NRSV), "throng" (NEB), and "everything in them" (HCSB, NET2).[206] This Hebrew word usually refers to the stars in the Old Testament (e.g., Deut. 4:19) more often than to the angels (e.g., 1 Kings 22:19). So "their heavenly lights" probably refers to the sun, moon, and stars here.
2:2 "Seventh" comes from a Hebrew root meaning "to be full, completed, entirely made up."[207] "Rested" (Heb. shabat) means ceased or desisted from activity (cf. Exod. 40:33). There is no implication that God felt fatigued by His creative activity and needed to rest. He simply stopped creating because He had finished His work (cf. Isa. 40:28-29).
"The eternal God did not rest, as one weary, but as one well-pleased."[208]
"Unquestionably, the number seven marks in Scripture the sacred measurement of time."[209]
Some other ancient Near Eastern civilizations regarded the seventh day as especially significant, but not the same as Israel's Sabbath day.[210] The origin of this mutual regard probably traces back to God's resting on the seventh day of creation.
2:3 God "blessed" the seventh day of inactivity in that He set it apart as different from the other days of creation. It was a memorial of His creative work. God was satisfied with the work that He had done (cf. 1:31). Note the unique threefold repetition of "seventh day" in verses 2 and 3, which highlights its special significance.
"… according to one Babylonian tradition, the seventh, fourteenth, nineteenth, twenty-first, and twenty-eighth days of each month were regarded as unlucky: Genesis, however, declares the seventh day of every week to be holy, a day of rest consecrated to God (2:1-3)."[211]
Note that God did not command Adam to abstain from work on the Sabbath. This came later with the Mosaic Law. However Scripture does teach the importance of periodic rest (cf. Exod. 20:8-10; 23:10-12; Lev. 25:2, 4; Deut. 15:1-18; Heb. 4:1-11; et al.). Part of bearing the likeness of God involves resting as He did after completing His work.[212]
"In the first six days space is subdued; on the seventh, time is sanctified. This day is blessed to refresh the earth. It summons humanity to imitate the pattern of labor and rest of the King and so to confess God's lordship and their [people's] consecration to him. On this day they cease to subdue the earth."[213]
The writers of Scripture used the Sabbath to anticipate the hope of Messianic redemption throughout the Old Testament. In the creation account the Sabbath points forward to the time when God will bring …
"… a perfect and complete cosmos out of chaos. The weekly rest-experience of the Sabbath [under the Mosaic Law] served to epitomize the future peace and rest of the Messianic age."[214]
"The seventh day of the week, the Jewish Sabbath, symbolized the old creation and the covenant of law; first you work, then you rest. The first day of the week, the Lord's day, symbolizes the New Creation and the Covenant of Grace: first you believe in Christ and find rest, and then you work (Eph. 2:8-10)."[215]
The sabbatical and jubilee years in ancient Judaism also pointed to the liberation that Messiah would provide for His people.[216]
The structure of 1:1 through 2:3 bears the marks of literary artistry, as does the structure of the rest of Genesis.
"The correspondence of the first paragraph, 1:1-2, with 2:1-3 is underlined by the number of Hebrew words in both being multiples of 7. 1:1 consists of 7 words, 1:2 of 14 (7 x 2) words, 2:1-3 of 35 (7 x 5) words. The number seven dominates this opening chapter in a strange way, not only in the number of words in a particular section but in the number of times a specific word or phrase recurs. For example, 'God' is mentioned 35 times, 'earth' 21 times, 'heaven/firmament' 21 times, while the phrases 'and it was so' and 'God saw that it was good' occur 7 times."[217]
These characteristics of repeating important words or phrases in multiples of seven, and using them to bracket sections of the narrative, continue throughout Genesis, though not consistently. They help the reader of the Hebrew text identify distinct sections of the text as such.
How long were the seven days of creation? This is a problem because the inspired writers used "day" (Heb. yom) in various ways in the Old Testament.[218]
"The simple fact is that day in Hebrew (just as in English) is used in three separate senses: to mean (1) twenty-four hours, (2) the period of light during the twenty-four hours, and (3) an indeterminate period of time. Therefore, we must leave open the exact length of time indicated by day in Genesis."[219]
Moses used "day" these three ways in Genesis 1 and 2: (1) a 12-hour period of daylight (1:5, 14, 16, 18), (2) a 24-hour day (1:14), and (3) the entire seven-day period of creation (2:4). A few scholars have argued that the sequence of days is not chronologically ordered at all.[220] They believe that Moses numbered the days on the basis of content rather than sequence in time. This view has not enjoyed wide acceptance. Other scholars believe that there are some portions of the text that are not in chronological order.[221] There are four major views as to the length of the days of creation.
1. The literal 24-hour day theory. The normal conclusion one would most likely draw from the terminology in the text (e.g., evening, morning, day, night, etc.) is that God created the world in six 24-hour days.[222] This view is most consistent with the principles of literal, historical, and grammatical interpretation. The fact that the number of days corresponds to the number of weekdays also favors this view. Furthermore, whenever "day" (yom) occurs with a numeral in the Old Testament, as here, it refers to a 24-hour period. Some advocates cite Exodus 20:11 as support also.[223] The main problem with this view is that the activity of some days (e.g., the sixth) seems to some to require more than 24 hours.[224]
2. The day-age (or geologic day) theory. This view interprets the terminology less literally. Advocates argue that the events recorded seem to require more than 24-hour days (e.g., v. 12). They also point out that solar days may not have begun until the fourth day. Some advocates of this theory are theistic evolutionists. Others are progressive creationists. Progressive creationists generally seek to correlate the geologic ages with the six days of creation. Not all advocates of this view link the long creative days with the geologic ages.[225] The main problem with the day-age theory is that it interprets terms figuratively that seem to have obvious literal meaning.
3. The literal days with intervening ages theory. This view regards each day as a time of completion of creative activity only. It is an attempt to take the "morning and evening" references seriously but still allow the time that seems necessary within the days (e.g., v. 12). It is a combination of the two preceding views. However it strains the text. Also, Moses could have described this method of creation more clearly than he did if long ages interspersed the six days. Few scholars have adopted this view.
4. The revelatory day theory. The least literal interpretation holds that God revealed, rather than accomplished, creation in six days. A major problem with this view is Exodus 20:11, where Moses says that God "made," not "revealed," His creation in six days. A variation of this view understands the days as "structures of a literary framework designed to illustrate the orderly nature of God's creation and to enable the covenant people to mime the Creator."[226]
Presuppositions are extremely important in this controversy. If one believes that scientific "facts" are true, he or she may try to make the Bible fit these. On the other hand, if one believes in an inerrant Bible, he or she will give priority to statements in the text. If one believes both are true, he or she will soon learn that both cannot be true. For example, the text says that God created the trees before marine life (1:11, 20), but most evolutionists believe that trees developed after marine life. Also, the Bible implies that marine life and birds came into existence about the same time (1:20), but evolutionists hold that they evolved millions of years apart.[227] No theory explains the conflict between biblical statements and scientific claims adequately. In the end, one really is forced to ask: Do I put more confidence in what God says or in what scientists say?[228] One's presuppositions will also affect whether he or she interprets more or less literally.
"One cannot help being concerned about the drift of some evangelical scholars to subject the interpretation of Genesis 1 to modern scientific opinions. There is a dangerous tendency to interpret the first chapter of Genesis, not by strict and accurate exegesis, but in a manner so as to satisfy the 'scientific mind.'"[229]
Belief in the inerrancy of Scripture does not do away with the problem of the age of the earth however. Several evangelical scholars who are competent scientists and affirm inerrancy believe the proper interpretation of Scripture results in an old earth model of creation.[230] Other equally qualified inerrantists see a young earth model in the Bible.[231]
One writer gave biographical information about Archbishop James Ussher (1581-1656), whose chronology appeared first in the 1701 edition of the AV and later in the margin of the original Scofield Reference Bible. He also gave an explanation of how Ussher arrived at his dates and a table listing the dates of the more important events in Old Testament history contained in Ussher's chronology.[232]
"Clearly a difference between these positions at this precise point of the relationship between science and Scripture is clear and unmistakable. The old-earth view is built on the position that an old universe and an old earth is an established factual base. Thus the Bible at the true meaning level must be interpreted to show that it is not out of harmony with this fact. The young-earth model is based on the position that the scientific data used to establish the concept of an old earth can be interpreted differently and that, strictly speaking, there is no need to defend an old earth. Thus the Bible is approached without this a priori [theoretical, supposed, inferred] demand for an old earth, and the differences are markedly clear, in this writer's opinion."[233]
Evangelicals who believe in a young earth (usually less than 10,000 years old) normally do so because they believe that the biblical genealogies in Genesis 5 and 11 are complete or very nearly complete. Some of the other genealogies in Scripture are clearly incomplete, which opens the door to the possibility that these genealogies in Genesis may also be incomplete.[234]
Where did the names we use for the days of the week come from? The days of the week originally received their names in honor of seven pagan gods, whom the ancients associated with the five major planets plus the sun and moon. The names of Germanic (Teutonic) gods replaced those of some Roman gods as time passed. The early church, following Jewish custom, numbered the days of the week to avoid using the names of pagan gods (e.g., Luke 24:1; Acts 20:7).[235]
| Weekday | Teutonic god | Roman god/planet |
| Sunday |
| Sun |
| Monday |
| Moon |
| Tuesday | Tiw | Mars |
| Wednesday | Woden | Mercury |
| Thursday | Thor | Jupiter (Jove) |
| Friday | Frigg | Venus |
| Saturday |
| Saturn |
"Though historical and scientific questions may be uppermost in our minds as we approach the text, it is doubtful whether they were in the writer's mind, and we should therefore be cautious about looking for answers to questions he was not concerned with. Genesis is primarily about God's character and his purposes for sinful mankind. Let us beware of allowing our interests to divert us from the central thrust of the book so that we miss what the LORD, our creator and redeemer, is saying to us."[236]
The main point of the story of creation (1:1—2:3) is that God turned chaos into an orderly, blessed, good creation by His word. The original Israelite readers of Genesis would have found encouragement in this revelation to trust God. They would have hoped in Him to transform their national life from chaos, in a pagan chaotic environment (Egypt), to order and blessing, in an environment that He would create for them (Canaan). God's superiority over the forces that their pagan neighbors worshipped out of fear (gods of the darkness, the sun, moon, planets, and stars, the watery deep, etc.) would have strengthened their faith.[237] Their God had also created them as a nation, so they could look forward to the future with confidence.
"This passage is significant also in the lives of Christians. Above and beyond asserting the fact of creation in much the same way it did for Israel, the passage provides an important theological lesson. The believer enters into a life of Sabbath rest from works and embarks on a life of holiness in that rest. We learn from the creation account (1) that God is a redeeming God who changes darkness to light, death to life, and chaos to blessing; (2) that God is absolutely sovereign over all life and all pagan ideas that would contend for our allegiance; and (3) that God works by His powerful Word—to create, to redeem, and to sanctify. Obedience to His powerful Word, either the written Word, or the living Word, our Savior, will transform believers into His glorious image."[238]
B. What became of the creation 2:4—4:26
Genesis 2:4 through 4:26 tells us what became of ("the account of," 2:4) the creation that God described in 1:1 through 2:3. Genesis 2:4 through 25 retells the creation of man and woman as preparation for the account of the Fall in chapter 3. Moses gave us the broad outline of creation in 1:1 through 2:3 and then filled in details having to do with the creation of human beings in the rest of chapter 2 (cf. Ps. 104; Prov. 8). He then described what happened to the creation by recording significant events in the Garden of Eden, the murder of Abel, and the family of Cain.
"The section begins with a description of the creation of Adam and Eve and traces their sin, God's curse on sin, and the expansion of sin in their descendants. No longer at rest, mankind experienced flight and fear, making his way in the world, surviving, and developing civilization. As if in answer to the blessings of Creation, this passage supplies a threefold cursing (of Satan [3:14], of the ground because of man [3:17], and of Cain [4:11]). Yet in this deteriorating life there is a token of grace (4:15) and a ray of hope (man began to call on Yahweh [4:26])."[239]
1. The Garden of Eden 2:4—3:24
This story has seven scenes that a change in actors, situations, or activities identifies.[240] Moses constructed this section of Genesis in a chiastic (palistrophic, crossing) structure to focus attention on the central scene: the Fall. The preceding scenes lead up to the Fall, and the following scenes describe its consequences.[241]
A Scene 1 (narrative): God is the sole actor, and man is passive (2:4-17).
B Scene 2 (narrative): God is the main actor, man plays a minor role, the woman and the animals are passive (2:18-25).
C Scene 3 (dialogue): The snake and the woman converse (3:1-5).
D Scene 4 (narrative): The man and the woman are primary (3:6-8).
C' Scene 5 (dialogue): God converses with the man and the woman (3:9-13).
B' Scene 6 (narrative): God is the main actor, man plays a minor role, the woman and the serpent are passive (3:14-21).
A' Scene 7 (narrative): God is the sole actor, and man is passive (3:22-24).
The story of what took place in the Garden of Eden (ch. 3) begins with a second, more detailed account of the creation of humankind that Moses gave as an introduction to the Fall and its consequences (ch. 2).
"More light is shed on the relationship between Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 by a consideration of a literary structure that occurs throughout the entire book of Genesis: First, less important things are dealt with rapidly, and then the things more important to the central theme of the Bible are returned to and developed more fully."[242]
Note the following contrasts between the accounts of man's creation.
|
|
1:1—2:3 |
2:4-25 |
| Name of God | Elohim (Strong One) | Yahweh (Covenant-keeping One) |
| Purpose | Facts of Creation | God's relationship with human creatures |
| Emphasis | The world generally | Humankind specifically |
Moses identified "Yahweh," the God who called Abraham (12:1) and who delivered Israel from Egypt (Exod. 3:15), with "Elohim," the God who created the cosmos.[243] The name "Jehovah," which appears in some English translations, comes from combining the vowels of the Hebrew adonay ("Lord") with the consonants of the Hebrew Yahweh (i.e., YHWH).
"In Genesis 1 'elohim (God) refers to God's transcendence over the world, while in Genesis 2—3 yhwh (LORD) speaks of God's immanence with his elect. When the narrator combines the two names, he makes a bold assertion that the Creation God is the Lord of Israel's history. Just as God ordered creation, he orders history. All is under God's sovereign control, guaranteeing that Israel's history will end in triumph, not in tragedy."[244]
The creation of man 2:4-17
The differences between 1:1 through 2:3 and 2:4 through 25 have led many literary critics of the Bible to insist that two different writers composed these sections. But the similarities between these sections argue for a common writer.[245]
Critics who hold to the documentary hypothesis believe that passages in Genesis (and elsewhere) that contain the name "Elohim" derive from one source document (E), and passages where "Jehovah" or Yahweh appear come from a different source document (J). A better explanation is that the speaker in the passage, or the writer of the passage (Moses), chose each of these names of God deliberately to emphasize a particular characteristic of God that that name connotes. In the case of "Elohim," that characteristic is His power as Creator, and in the case of "Jehovah" or Yahweh, it is His covenant relationship with people.[246]
2:4 Having related the creation of the universe as we know it, God next inspired Moses to explain for his readers what became of it. Sin entered it and devastated it.
"The destiny of the human creation is to live in God's world, with God's other creatures, on God's terms."[247]
The Hebrew word toledot occurs first in 2:4, where it introduces the next section of the book. This Hebrew word often reads "generations," "histories," "descendants," or, as here (in the NASB and NIV), "account" (cf. 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10, 27; 25:12, 19; 36:1, 9; 37:2). The word summarizes what follows in the section and introduces what became of something, in this case the universe, or, more often, someone. The person mentioned after toledot is not usually the central figure in the section but the person who originated what follows. The toledot statements contribute the major structural and conceptual framework for the whole Book of Genesis.[248]
"… the material within each tol'dot is a microcosm of the development of the Book of Genesis itself, with the motifs of blessing and cursing playing a dominant role. Within each of the first several tol'dot is a deterioration to cursing until 12:1-12, where the message moves to the promise of blessing. From this point on there is a constant striving for the place of blessing, but still with each successive narrative there is deterioration, for Isaac and Jacob did not measure up to Abraham. Consequently at the end of Genesis the family is not in the land of blessing but in Egypt."[249]
A new name for God appears in this verse. "God" is again Elohim, but "LORD" (Yahweh, Jehovah) translates the proper name of God that elsewhere highlights the Almighty's covenant relationship with His people. The "God" of chapter 1 and the "LORD God" of chapter 2 are the same Person.
2:5-6 These verses describe global conditions before man's creation in terms that stress God's gracious preparation of the world for him. They are a flashback to conditions before 1:26. Moses chose terms that contrast with conditions that existed after the Fall.[250] "Shrub[s]" were evidently not edible, whereas "plant[s]" were. Thus Moses distinguished two types of land: arable and non-arable.[251]
Moses' reference to "rain" (v. 5) anticipates the story of the Flood (chs. 6—9). The absence of "rain" and the presence of the "mist" (v. 6) have led some writers to put forward a "canopy theory."[252] According to this theory, a canopy of water vapor covered the earth initially and watered it. It reduced the destructive rays of the sun so that antediluvian (pre-Flood) man lived much longer, and it distributed heat more evenly over the surface of the earth. Such a water canopy covers Venus. This canopy supposedly broke up when God sent the Flood (7:11). This is another of those theories that are impossible to prove or disprove conclusively.[253]
"This idea still has its defenders today [2015], although its exegetical foundation is rejected by most evangelical scholars and its science is rejected by both evangelical and secular scientists. Nevertheless, liberal scholars have been delighted to receive support from the more fundamentalist vapor-canopy theorists for their assertion of the ancient Hebrews' naïve views of the cosmos."[254]
Another explanation is that mists rose from the earth, condensed and fell like rain, and so watered the earth.[255]
I believe Genesis 1:1 through 2:3 is the big picture of creation, and the rest of chapter 2 retells the creation of man. Chapter 2 verses 4 and 5 set the stage for what follows by explaining what agricultural land was like before man started farming it. Verse 5 explains the original order of plant life, which did not yet grow as a result of rain ("no plant of the field had yet sprouted"). Initially plants grew from the mist that arose from the ground (v. 6). In other words, verses 5 and 6 apparently give the chronological sequence of mist—plants—man, and the comment about rain was added because that is how plants grow now.
2:7 "Formed" (Heb. yasar) means to shape or mold and implies that God deliberately did this with tender loving care. It describes the work of an artist elsewhere (cf. Job 10:8-9). However, one should not conclude that God literally formed Adam with God's hands, since God does not have hands. He is a spirit being. This is one of numerous anthropomorphisms in the Bible that describe God and His activities as though God were a human being. The point being emphasized is that God created Adam with loving care—like a potter forms a vessel on his wheel.
"Dust" (Heb. haadama) reflects man's lowly origin. Even though he was made in God's image, man was a creature like other creatures that God had made. This rules out the view that man descended from the gods, which was popular in the ancient Near East and was foundational in Egyptian cosmology.[256] In the Creation, God raised man out of the dust to reign.[257] However, in the Fall, man returned to the dust by his own work (3:19).[258] By "dust" Moses probably meant "earth": existing material.
"Practically the universal belief of antiquity in regard to man's origin was that he was made of earth. It could not be otherwise, for the truth was evident to him that had eyes to see. Man's body moulders [decays] to dust after death. Plainly it is made of earth. The tales which would tell the story of man's creation differ, indeed, but the difference between the accounts which assume the intervention of a creator lies in the method of divine procedure."[259]
The "breath of life" (Heb. nesama) was God's breath that gave Adam life, spiritual understanding (Job 32:8), and a functioning conscience (Prov. 20:27). It probably also imparted moral, intellectual, relational, and spiritual capacities.[260] Adam's life-breath came from God's breath or spirit.[261] The same Hebrew word, nephesh, means both "breath" and "spirit," and sometimes refers to the Holy "Spirit" (cf. 1:2). God's "breath" may be a synonym for His word (cf. Ps. 33:6).[262]
The point is that God imparted life to Adam. Man's uniqueness consisted in his having been made in God's image. Again, one must avoid the conclusion that God literally blew breath into Adam's nostrils from God's mouth, since God does not have a mouth and lungs. Man, therefore, is a combination of dust and divinity.[263]
"Not this breath itself but the manner of its impartation indicates man's dignity."[264]
This verse is the basis for the belief that man consists of two parts: a body and a soul—one corporeal (physical) and the other spiritual. This is the doctrine of human dichotomy. Those who hold this view of man usually subsume all of the spiritual and immaterial aspects of humanity under the soul (e.g., the human spirit, the metaphorical heart, the will, the mind, etc.).[265] Whereas 1 Thessalonians 5:23 describes people as having a "spirit and soul and body," it is generally recognized that the spirit and the soul are spiritual and the body is physical.
2:8 Another indication of God's love and grace is that He placed Adam in a garden that He had prepared for him. The God who was powerful enough to create the cosmos with a word (ch. 1) was also a good and loving God.
2:9 The trees in the garden were beautiful ("pleasing to the sight") and edible ("good for food")—an orchard for man to enjoy (v. 9). The "tree of life" appears to have been a means, with its fruit, whereby God sustained Adam and Eve's lives. Again, God's desire to bless man comes through. "The knowledge of good and evil" (cf. v. 17) probably refers to man's ability to decide for himself what is best for him and what is not (i.e., wisdom).[266] "Good and evil" may be a merism for all the things that protect and destroy life. It may mean total knowledge.[267] These were evidently real trees, since the garden was a real garden, and Adam and Eve were real people (Luke 3:38; Rom. 5:14; 1 Cor. 15:22, 45; 1 Tim. 2:13-14; Jude 14). The one tree God associated with life, and the other tree He associated with the knowledge of good and evil.[268]
2:10-14 The modern equivalent of the "Pishon" River (v. 11) is unknown for certain. Commentators have suggested that it was the Indus, the Ganges,[269] a river of Arabia, or a river of Mesopotamia. The "land of Havilah" seems to have been in southwestern Arabia (cf. 25:18). The "Gihon" (v. 13) may be the pre-Flood Nile, since Cush (the region surrounding the river) in the Old Testament usually describes modern Ethiopia (cf. 10:6-8; Num. 12:1; 2 Sam. 18:19-33; 2 Kings 19:9; 2 Chron. 14:9-15; Isa. 37:9; Jer. 13:23; 38—39).[270] However some interpreters believe that this site was in the land of the Cassites, east of Mesopotamia.[271] Perhaps these rivers are unidentifiable with certainty today because of the great geographical changes that the Flood produced.[272] The "Tigris" and "Euphrates" are now in the area formerly called "Babylonia" (modern Iraq).
2:15 "Eden" (meaning "delight," "pleasure," or perhaps "place of abundant waters") therefore appears to have been located in the general area of the Promised Land (cf. Isa. 51:3; Ezek. 36:35; Joel 2:3; Zech. 14:8; Rev. 22:1-2). The "Garden of [sometimes rendered "in"] Eden" seems to have been in the eastern part of Eden, perhaps in Mesopotamia.[273]
The Hebrew word translated "placed," in verse 8 (wayyasem), is not the same one rendered "put" in verse 15 (wayyannihehu). The former term is the normal one for putting something somewhere. The latter one connotes rest and safety (cf. 19:16; Deut. 3:20; 12:10; 25:19), as well as dedication in God's presence (cf. Exod. 16:33-34; Lev. 16:23; Num. 17:4; Deut. 26:4, 10). God specifically placed man in "the garden," where he could be safe and rest, and where he could have fellowship with God (cf. 3:8). Mankind's primary responsibility there was actually to worship and obey God, though not explicitly stated, rather than to merely "cultivate" and "tend" the garden (v. 15).[274] In other words, Adam served—and thereby worshipped God—by tending the garden.[275] Work is essentially a good gift from God, not a punishment for sin.
Similarities between the descriptions of the garden and the tabernacle are also instructive (cf. Exod. 25-27). Both places reflected the glory of God's presence in their beautiful surroundings (cf. Hag. 2:7-8; Rev. 21:18).[276]
"The Garden of Eden is a temple-garden, represented later in the tabernacle. Cherubim protect its sanctity (Gen. 3:24; Ex. 26:1; 2 Chron. 3:7) so that sin and death are excluded (Gen. 3:23; Rev. 21:8)."[277]
This rather extensive description of conditions in and the location of the Garden of Eden sets the stage for Adam and Eve's expulsion from it in 3:24. It probably also encouraged the Israelites to anticipate the Promised Land.
"It can hardly be a coincidence that these rivers, along with the 'River of Egypt,' again play a role in marking boundaries of the land promised to Abraham (Ge 15:18)."[278]
2:16-17 God gave Adam great freedom of choice. Note that He graciously gave him broad permission before one narrow restriction. God only forbade eating from one of all the trees. God's command also implies that He alone knows what is good and not good for man. Adam would die because of disobedience, not because of the fruit of the tree.[279] (Someone posted on their church marquee: "Forbidden fruits create many jams.")
"Adam was denied the tree of the knowledge of good and evil to test his obedience and prove that he was willingly under God's command. The very name of the tree shows the sole purpose of the precept was to keep him content with his lot and to prevent him from becoming puffed up with wicked lust. But the promise by which he was bidden to hope for eternal life so long as he ate from the tree of life, and, conversely, the terrible threat of death once he tasted of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, served to prove and exercise his faith."[280]
"That famous tree symbolizes the ability to discern good (i.e., what advances life) and evil (i.e., what hinders life). Such knowledge belongs to God alone because, as Agur inferentially argues in Prov. 30:1-6, one must know comprehensively in order to speak absolutely about what is good and bad."[281]
"On the whole it seems probable that we should understand 'death' to mean a spiritual state, but a state aptly symbolized by physical death. When man sinned he passed into a new state, one dominated by, and at the same time symbolized by death. It is likely that spiritual death and physical death are not being thought of as separate, so that the one involves the other."[282]
"O, if Adam had only believed God about sin and death! O, if he had only stopped his ears against the father of lies! O, if he could only have foretasted guilt and remorse and agony of conscience as he was led up to the tree! O, if he could only at that fatal moment have foreseen that coming garden where the Son of God Himself lay among the dark olive-trees recoiling from sin and death in a sweat of blood! O, if he could only have seen spread out before him all the death-beds of all his children on the earth, and all the beds of their second death in hell! O Adam and Eve in Eden, and still under the tree of temptation, look before it is too late; look on through the endless ages at the unutterable woes that you are working!"[283]
The Hebrew construction emphasizes the certainty of death, however it is defined. Why did Adam and Eve not die immediately? Because the phrase "on the day" (v. 17) in Hebrew is an idiom meaning "for certain" (cf. Exod. 10:28; 1 Kings 2:37, 42).
"Did God fail to carry out His promise? Certainly not! But the death that overtook the guilty pair that day was spiritual only; physical death did not come until centuries later (Gen. 5:5)."[284]
"Before Adam and Eve fell into sin, God made a proposition to them that some have regarded as a covenant, as stated in Genesis 1:26-31 and 2:16-17. God gave Adam authority over the creatures of the world, commanded him to be fruitful, and gave him permission to eat from every green plant. The only restriction was that Adam and Eve not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for if they did so they would surely die (2:16-17). Basically, the covenant was conditional, requiring obedience; but it also declared God's purpose to elevate humanity to a place of authority and prominence, ultimately fulfilled by Christ."[285]
The covenant in 2:16 and 17 has been called the Edenic Covenant. A covenant is a divine pronouncement by which God establishes a relationship involving responsibility. The relationship may involve Himself and an individual (e.g., Adam in the Edenic Covenant; Gen. 2:16-17), or Himself and humankind in general (e.g., humanity in the Noahic Covenant; Gen. 9:9-17). It may involve Himself and a nation (e.g., Israel in the Mosaic Covenant; Exod. 19:3-8), or Himself and a human family (e.g., David's family in the Davidic Covenant; 2 Sam. 7:12-17). A covenant of one type may overlap in time another covenant or other covenants of a different type or different types. For example, the Noahic Covenant overlaps the Mosaic Covenant, and the Davidic Covenant overlaps the Mosaic and New Covenants.
The biblical covenants normally involved unconditional promises in which God obligated Himself to accomplish certain purposes despite human failure, though they may contain conditional elements. An exception is the Mosaic Covenant, in which the fulfillment of the promises contained in the covenant depended on Israel's obedience. The Edenic Covenant was also different, in that God promised death for failure to obey His command to abstain from eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.[286]
The three universal covenants, which affect the whole human race, are the Edenic, Adamic, and Noahic Covenants. All the subsequent covenants affect Israel primarily, though they all affect the rest of humanity secondarily. There are seven major biblical covenants, and they all help us understand how God is working out His purposes with humankind. These are: the Edenic (Gen. 2:16), the Adamic (Gen. 3:15), the Noahic (Gen. 9:16), the Abrahamic (Gen. 12:2), the Mosaic (Exod. 19:5), the Davidic (2 Sam. 7:16), and the New (Heb. 8:8). Some scholars believe that there is an eighth covenant: the Palestinian (Deut. 30:3), while others regard this verse as a restatement of the land promise given to Abraham in the Abrahamic Covenant.
"On the plane of human relationships, the truth almost always points to a covenant between two partners who are on an unequal footing; it is the stronger who proposes the berit [covenant]."[287]
The Edenic Covenant required five things from Adam. He was: (1) to propagate the human race, (2) to subdue the earth for human habitation, (3) to exercise dominion over the animal creation, (4) to care for and enjoy the Garden of Eden and its fruits, and (5) to abstain from eating from one tree in the garden.
"From Genesis to revelation the Bible makes it clear that no one was ever saved by his own good works but only by faith in the promises of God. Only in Eden was salvation put on the basis of obedience, with the accompanying warning of death for transgression of God's command …"[288]
Verse 17 also contains the first prophecy in the Bible. Note that what God predicted was fulfilled literally and in detail. This suggests that His other predictions should be interpreted the same way, unless there is reason in the context to understand it otherwise.
"One of my books, The Prophecy Knowledge Handbook (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor, 1990), traces one thousand scriptural passages on prophecy, some of them single verses and some of them entire chapters. The book shows that half of these prophecies have already been fulfilled literally, an astounding proof that prophecy is accurate even when dealing with distant future events."[289]
The creation of woman 2:18-25
2:18 Adam's creation was not complete, because he lacked a "helper" who corresponded to him. This deficiency led God to pronounce Adam's condition "not good," that is, not in accordance with God's will for him. This provision of a companion follows the pattern of the triune God's own relationships in which He is surrounded by His heavenly court (cf. Ezek. 1; Rev. 4—5). Man should normally live in community, even as God does. God not only evaluated Adam's condition, He also improved it.
"In Judaism, from the very moment of origins of the Jewish people, marriage was considered to be the ideal state."[290]
God's provision of a wife for Adam is a concrete example of God knowing what is good for man.[291] Companionship replaced isolation. For companionship to be satisfying, however, there must be oneness in the marriage (cf. 1:26-27). Self-centered living destroys oneness and companionship.
The term "helper" does not mean servant. Jesus Christ used the same word (the Greek equivalent) to describe the Holy Spirit, who would help believers following the Lord's ascension (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7). "Helper" means one who supports us in our task of doing the will of God (cf. Deut. 33:7; Ps. 33:20; 115:9-11; 146:5; Hos. 13:9). It is not a demeaning term, since Scripture often uses it to describe God Himself (e.g., Ps. 33:20; 70:5; 115:9).
"The word help suggests that the man has governmental priority, but both sexes are mutually dependent on each other. The man is created first, with the woman to help the man, not vice versa (see also 1 Tim. 2:13); however, this does not mean ontological [essential] superiority or inferiority. The word helper, used for God sixteen of the nineteen times it appears in the Old Testament, signifies the woman's essential contribution, not inadequacy."[292]
"Suitable to him" or "corresponding to him" means "equal and adequate." What was true of Adam (cf. v. 7) was also true of Eve. They both had the same nature. She was comparable to him, in contrast to the rest of the animal creation.
"Since Adam and Eve were a spiritual unity, living in integrity without sin, there was no need for instruction here on headship."[293]
This verse is not saying that it is "not good" for all men to remain single but that they should marry. This verse is often misquoted in modern marriage ceremonies to make this point. Some men are better off single than married. Paul explained that the single state is perfectly acceptable to God (1 Cor. 7). This verse is saying that God regarded His creation of Adam ('the man" in view, not just any man) as "not good" until He provided a suitable helper for Adam. The point is that the creation of humankind required both a male and a female to make it "good" in God's sight.
The ancient Near Eastern texts contain no account of the creation of woman. Moses, however, devoted six verses to her formation compared to only one for Adam (2:7). This indicates God's concern for women.
2:19-20 These verses do not mean that Adam named every individual animal. He apparently gave names to the different kinds God brought before him. This exercise demonstrated Adam's authority over the animals and the dissimilarity between humans and animals. As God had named things (ch. 1), now Adam demonstrated his right, as God's viceregent (under-ruler), to name the animals ("whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name"). He became aware of his own need for a companion as he named the animals.
The name "Adam" (v. 20) comes from the Hebrew word for "earth" (adamah). "Adam" means "one that is red," like the earth.[294] Likewise the names of the animals probably expressed something characteristic of each animal. Names of humans in Old Testament times usually reflected the nature of the persons who bore them. This indicates that Adam must have had great intelligence and wisdom to be able to identify and label the various types of animals according to their characteristics or natures.
Man is not like the other animals. Adam could find no suitable partner who was comparable to him among them (v. 20). So God graciously provided for his need by creating Eve.
The events of this sixth "day" of creation (cf. 1:24-31) have led some interpreters to conclude that Adam could not have done all that he is reported to have done in one 24-hour period.[295] Nevertheless, he could have named all the animals very quickly if they were all in the Garden of Eden.
2:21-22 More than once, when God initiated a new relationship for someone, He first put that person into a "deep sleep" (cf. 15:12; 28:11). He evidently did so to assure the recipient that his own works had no part in his receiving it.[296] It was totally a gift of God's grace.
"… the woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved."[297]
"Similarly, it was observed [by the Rabbis], that God had not formed woman out of the head, lest she should become proud; nor out of the eye, lest she should lust; nor out of the ear, lest she should be curious; nor out of the mouth, lest she should be talkative; nor out of the heart, lest she should be jealous; nor out of the hand, lest she should be covetous; nor out of the foot, lest she be a busybody; but out of the rib, which was always covered. Modesty was, therefore, a prime quality."[298]
"Just as the rib is found at the side of the man and is attached to him, even so the good wife, the rib of her husband, stands at his side to be his helper-counterpart, and her soul is bound up with him."[299]
"Adam was put to sleep and his side opened that he might have a wife, but Jesus died on a cross and His blood shed that He might have a bride, the church (John 19:33-37)."[300]
God "fashioned" Eve (v. 22) to be a suitable companion for Adam. Then He presented her to him as a gift ("brought her to the man").
"That woman was taken from man no more implies the inferiority of woman to man than the taking of man from the ground ('adam from 'adamah) implies the inferiority of man to the ground."[301]
"… the whole account of woman's creation has a poetic flavor: it is certainly mistaken to read it as an account of a clinical operation or as an attempt to explain some feature of man's anatomy. Rather, it brilliantly depicts the relation of man and wife. Here the ideal of marriage as it was understood in ancient Israel is being portrayed, a relationship characterized by harmony and intimacy between the partners."[302]
2:23 The Hebrew word translated "woman" (Heb. ishah) sounds similar to the Hebrew word translated "man" (ish). This similarity reflects the close union between the two. Moses identified Adam by his relation to the ground, but Adam identified his wife in relation to himself.[303]
"… name-giving in the ancient Orient was primarily an exercise of sovereignty, of command."[304]
"Gen. 2 is unique among the creation myths of the whole of the Ancient Near East in its appreciation of the meaning of woman, i.e., that human existence is a partnership of man and woman."[305]
"Though they are equal in nature, that man names woman (cf. 3:20) indicates that she is expected to be subordinate to him, an important presupposition of the ensuing narrative (3:17)."[306]
When Adam discovered that God had provided him with a partner like himself, not like one of the other animals, he rejoiced greatly. He received his mate as God's good gift to him because he trusted in God's wisdom, goodness, and integrity. Adam was now "beside himself"! (Pardon the pun.)
Following Adam's example, it is essential for every husband and wife to thankfully receive the mate that God has given him or her as His best provision for them. To do so we must know and trust God's goodness. Our mate's differences are good things that God "brings to us" (as part of the whole "package") that He will use as tools to shape us into the people He wants us to be. Failure to accept one's mate as a good gift from a loving God leads to many problems in marriage, and it frustrates God's purpose and plan for marriage. It expresses rejection of God and His provision for one's life. It also demonstrates unbelief, disobedience, and displeasure with God's character. Your mate needs your unconditional acceptance.
Sanford Yoder considered this verse to be the first of 26 poems in the Pentateuch.[307] He believed that the only book of the Pentateuch that does not contain some poetry is Leviticus.
2:24 This verse clarifies God's purpose in marriage. It may be a parenthetical observation by the writer (cf. 10:9; 26:33; 32:32). It involves leaving parents and cleaving (being "joined") to one's spouse.[308]
"In Gen 2:24, 'for this cause' did not refer to God's making the first human beings 'male and female,' but to God's making Eve out of Adam's rib. The reason for a man's leaving his father and mother, cleaving to his wife, and becoming one flesh with her was not sexual, then. It had to do with Eve's origin in Adam: since woman came from man, man should unite himself with woman to recapture their original unity."[309]
Note that God gave the command to "leave" and "be joined" (or "cleave" AV, NASB 1971 ed., "be united" NIV, cf. NEB, "hold fast" ESV, "bond[s]" HCSB) to the man, not the woman, indicating that the man should take the leadership in marriage.
"… Israelite marriage was usually patrilocal, that is, the man continued to live in or near his parents' home. It was the wife who left home to join her husband."[310]
"Leaving" and "be[ing] joined" probably means both psychological and physical separation and union, under normal conditions. A newly married couple is wise to establish relative independence from both sets of parents emotionally, physically, financially, and in other ways. The couple also needs to solidify their commitment to one another. The vows in marriage ceremonies express this commitment. Marriage is a covenant between two people to remain committed to one another.
"Be[ing] joined" resembles weaving two threads into one new piece of cloth. The Hebrew word suggests the ideas of passion and permanence. In marriage a man's priorities must change. Before, they were primarily to his parents, but now, they should be primarily to his wife. Moses was probably correcting those cultures that gave parental bonds priority over marital bonds.[311]
Marriage also involves physical consummation that unites two individuals as "one flesh" in a physical union that symbolizes that they become intimately related to each other—that they are a unit[312] "One flesh" is not the same as marriage (1 Cor. 6:16). For a marriage to exist, there must also be a commitment to "leave" parents and "be joined" to one's spouse from then on. The bond of marriage (spouse with spouse) even takes precedence over the bond of procreation (parent with child).
In the Old Testament there are many examples of polygamy. According to this verse, polygamy is a perversion of God's intention for marriage. His intent was that one man should be joined in marriage to one woman for as long as they lived. Jesus and Paul later affirmed this view of marriage (Matt. 19:4-6; Mark 10:6-10; 1 Cor. 6:16; Eph.5:31).
2:25 The "naked" condition of Adam and Eve does not just describe their unclothed physical appearance. It also expressed the physical and psychological oneness and transparency that existed in their relationship. Physically they were "naked"; they shared their bodies with each other freely. Psychologically they were "not ashamed"; they hid nothing from each other. They were at ease with one another, without any fear of exploitation for evil.
"Shame can be described as the feeling that something you are doing is bad."[313]
Transparency should increase with trust, commitment, and friendship. It involves communicating what we know, think, feel, and are—with the person or persons we choose. We should not be transparent with everyone, however, but only with people who commit themselves to us. A transparent person is an open and vulnerable person.
This is a hinge (janus) verse; it looks backward into chapter 2 and forward into chapter 3.[314] The similarity of the Hebrew words for "naked" ('arom) and "crafty" (3:1, 'arum) points to a wordplay. The word here for nakedness means unclothed, whereas the one in 3:7 ('erom), and elsewhere, describes those under God's judgment (cf. Deut. 28:48; Ezek. 16:39; 23:29).[315]
To summarize, verses 18 through 25 teach us much about marriage:
1. God instituted it.
2. God intended it to be monogamous (not monotonous). One woman completed Adam.
3. God intended it to be heterosexual. This passage does not support the idea that same-sex marriage was in God's plan when He instituted marriage.[316]
4. It involves both a physical and a spiritual union.
5. The husband was to be the head of the wife. God created Adam before Eve, and He created Eve for Adam (cf. 1 Cor. 11:8-9; 1 Tim. 2:13).
6. A woman can be a complete person without bearing children. A wife's primary function in marriage is to complete her husband, not to bear children.
7. Normally a couple, following the lead of their representatives, Adam and Eve, should "be fruitful and multiply" (1:28). God did not specify how early in the marriage and to what extent. He left this up to the couple. Couples may choose when and how many children they plan to have, though God may sovereignly overrule their plans.
The Family Ministry organization has summarized these purposes as five. Marriage should: mirror God's image, multiply a godly heritage, manage God's realm, mutually complete one another, and model Christ's relationship to the church.[317]
The Bible writers made use of the creation account in many different ways, and we too can use it in these ways for our own personal benefit. These purposes include: glorifying the God of creation, stimulating praise and worship, and fortifying faith in God's promises. They also include: learning about God's attributes, expressing wonder at man's position in God's universe, dispelling fear, and exalting the Lord Jesus.[318]
However a main point of this unit (2:4-25) seems clearly to be that God made human beings "male and female," with a spiritual capacity, and mutually dependent. He did so in order that they might serve and obey Him, and so enjoy His creation. Even today, serving and obeying God is man's greatest privilege, and we find help to do this in the marriage relationship.
As with Adam and Eve, God later placed Israel in a place of blessing. The nation could enjoy His blessing by being obedient and trusting, with the assistance He had provided for them in marriage.
"Two primary themes dominate the Creation account [1:1—2:25]: the land and the blessing."[319]
The theme of descendants (seed) is also present, though perhaps not as prominent (1:28).
The temptation of Eve 3:1-5
As in chapters 1 and 2, the word of the LORD is very important in chapter 3. Here we learn that Adam and Eve doubted God's integrity when He spoke to them. This pericope (section of text) also has something to teach about the acquisition of wisdom. Chapter 2 anticipated God's gift of the Promised Land to the original readers, and chapter 3 anticipates their exile from it.[320]
Claus Westermann observed that chapters 1 through 11 (really 3 through 11, I think) "are in fact dominated by the crime/punishment motif which shapes the narrative."[321]
We cannot read this chapter without wondering if the events described really happened as presented, or if this is an allegory or pictorial description merely designed to teach some truth. The rest of Scripture regards these things as having actually happened (cf. 2 Cor. 11:3; 2 Tim. 2:13). Thus we conclude that we should take this chapter literally.[322]
3:1 Who was the tempter? Among evangelicals there are two major views regarding the identity of "the serpent."
1. Arguments for it being a literal snake:
a. Moses called it an "animal of the field" (v. 1).
b. It possessed a natural characteristic of serpents: subtlety.
c. Though snakes normally do not speak, Satan could have spoken through a snake. A spirit being spoke through Balaam's donkey (Num. 22:21-30), and spirit beings spoke through demoniacs in Jesus' day.
d. God judged a snake in this case (v. 14).[323]
2. Arguments for it being Satan himself described here as a snake:
a. God called Satan a "serpent" elsewhere in Scripture (e.g., Rev. 20:2).
b. Satan can and does speak, as recorded elsewhere in Scripture (e.g., Job 1).
c. What the serpent said here is in character for Satan, who is called "the father of lies" (John 8:44).
Another less popular view is that the serpent was not a reptile, like serpents today, but a beautiful creature that Satan used to deceive Eve.[324]
Probably the tempter was actually Satan, who in this event possessed and controlled a literal snake.[325] Satan came to Eve disguised, unexpected, and using a subordinate, as he still does today.
God made Adam and Eve to rule over the plants and animals (1:28), but Satan was able to make them subject to an animal. Ever since, man has not been able to effectively control his environment. Jesus Christ will reverse this when He, the "second man" (cf. Rom. 5:18-19), comes back to the earth to rule and reign.
The pattern of temptation observable here is one that Satan has used often—and still uses (cf. the temptations of Achan, David, and Jesus Christ).
Satan's first step was to plant a seed of doubt in Eve's mind concerning God's good character and His purpose to bless her (vv. 1-3). The key phrase is "from any." Satan focused Eve's attention on God's one prohibition. He suggested that God did not really want what was best for Adam and Eve but was withholding something from them that was essentially good. Satan implied that God's line of protection was actually a line that He drew because He was selfish. Satan still tempts women (and men) to believe that God's role for them is primarily for His benefit rather than for their welfare.[326]
The Hebrew word translated "cunning" ('arum) does not imply "wicked" as much as "wise." Eve's sin also was not so much an act of great wickedness as it was an act of great folly. She already had all the good that she needed, but she wanted more. She wanted to glorify herself, not God.
3:2-3 Eve was vulnerable to the serpent's suggestion to doubt God's goodness because she distorted the word of God. She added to God's words "or touch it" (v. 3).
"In her reply to [the serpent's] question, she perverted and misquoted three times the divine law to which she and Adam were subject: (1) She disparaged her privileges by misquoting the terms of the Divine permission as to the other trees. (2) She overstated the restrictions by misquoting the Divine prohibition. (3) She underrated her obligations by misquoting the Divine penalty."[327]
God reveals His character through His word—both His spoken word, and His written Word. When we do not remember His Word precisely, a distorted concept of God is often the result. This led Eve to doubt God's goodness.
The serpent's claim directly contradicted the main point of chapters 1 and 2, namely, that God would provide what is good for humankind.
"It is because 'Yahweh Elohim' expresses so strongly the basic OT convictions about God's being both creator and Israel's covenant partner that the serpent and the woman avoid the term in their discussion. The god they are talking about is malevolent, secretive, and concerned to restrict man: his character is so different from that of Yahweh Elohim that the narrative pointedly avoids the name in the dialogue of 3:1-5."[328]
One natural tendency that we have, when we do not understand or recall God's Word precisely, is to make it more restrictive than He does. This is what Eve did. This is a form of legalism. Legalism is the belief that keeping laws is what God wants from people above all else. But legalism also involves making up laws that God has not imposed. This is what Eve did.
3:4-5 The second step in Satan's temptation was to deny God's word. In denying it, he imputed motives to God that were not consistent with God's character. God's true motive was the welfare of Adam and Eve, but the serpent implied it that was God's welfare at their expense.
This added suggestion seemed consistent with what the serpent had already implied about God's motives in verse 1. Having entertained a doubt concerning God's word, Eve was ready to accept a denial of His word.
What the serpent said about Adam and Eve being "like God [or gods, divine beings, Heb. 'elohim]" (v. 5) was a half-truth. Ironically, Eve was already "like God," having been made in His image (1:26). She also knew what was "good." She did become like God, or a divine being, in that she obtained a greater knowledge of good "and evil" by eating of the tree. However, she became less like God because she was no longer innocent of sin. Her relationship with God suffered. She also became like God in that she became the center of her world and assumed the authority to do what she pleased. Though she remained like God, she could no longer enjoy unhindered fellowship with God (3:24).
We, like Eve, are sometimes tempted to explore evil for our own gratification. We pursue the evil behavior of sinners, various forms of evil, and the sensations that come along with evil. We know what is good, but we also want to satisfy our curiosity about evil. In doing this we reenact Eve's sin—sin so serious that it plunged the human race into its present fallen condition. Paul wanted his Roman readers "to be wise in what is good, and innocent in what is evil" (Rom. 16:19). Sometimes ignorance is a good thing, specifically ignorance of various forms of evil.
The first doctrines that Satan denied in Scripture was that sin results in death and that God will not punish sin. These are still the truths that Satan tries the hardest to get people to disbelieve.
The Fall 3:6-8
This group of verses records that the relationship that God had established with man, which is the focus of the creation story, was broken. We can gain great insight into human nature from this story. Adam's and Eve's behavior as recorded here has been repeated by every one of their descendants.
"It is hardly too much to say that this chapter is the pivot of the Bible … With the exception of the fact of Creation, we have here the record of the most important and far-reaching event in the world's history—the entrance of sin."[329]
"… Genesis does not explain the origins of evil; rather, the biblical account, if anything, says where evil does not have its source. Evil was not inherent in man nor can it be said that sin was the consequence of divine entrapment. The tempter stands outside the human pair and stands opposed to God's word."[330]
3:6 Having succumbed to temptation, Eve disobeyed God's will. Whereas the serpent initiated the first two steps in Eve's temptation, he let Eve's natural desires (her flesh) carry her into his trap. Instead of listening to the serpent, Eve should have spoken to it what God had said (His prohibition), as Jesus did when He was tempted (Matt. 4:4, 7, 10). God commissioned man to "subdue" the earth, including the animal world (1:28), but instead man allowed it to subdue him, by listening to and heeding the serpent.
All three avenues of fleshly temptation are present in verse 6:
1. Eve saw that the tree was "good for food" (the lust of the flesh: the desire to do something contrary to God's will, i.e., eat the tasty fruit).
2. It was "delightful to look at" (the lust of the eyes: the desire to have something apart from God's will, i.e., possess the attractive fruit).
3. It was "desirable for obtaining wisdom" (the pride of life: the desire to be something apart from God's will, i.e., as wise as God, or gods). It was the illegitimate quest for forbidden wisdom that led Eve to disobey God.[331]
"Our first parents, who knew so much, did not know this—that they knew enough."[332]
Eve saw, coveted, and took and ate the fruit—Moses did not tell us what kind of fruit it was—(cf. Josh. 7:21; 2 Sam. 11:2-4). We see, then covet, then act.
"We have already noted how the scenes themselves are arranged in a concentric palistrophic pattern (ABCDCBA). Within this central scene, the same device is used; the midpoint 'and he ate' employs the key verb of this tale—'eat.' On either side we have the woman's hopes of eating, 'good to eat,' 'delight to the eyes,' 'giving insight,' balanced by its effects, 'eyes opened,' 'knowing they were nude,' 'hiding in the trees.' These contrasts are deliberately drawn."[333]
"The proposition that an adult can gaze at anything is ludicrous and naive, for gazing is too often followed by desiring and sinning."[334]
In view of Jesus' statement that a lustful look is as sinful as an overt act of sin (Matt. 5:27-28), did Eve commit the first sin when she desired the forbidden fruit? Temptations are not sins until we respond by giving in to them. Eve yielded to temptation when she ate the fruit. Until she did that, she was only experiencing temptation (desire). God created man in His image to reflect His desires as well as to rule over His creation. So when we yield to desires (temptations) that are contrary to God's desires, we are sinning.
"Here is the essence of covetousness. It is the attitude that says I need something I do not now have in order to be happy."[335]
"What Adam and Eve sought from the tree of knowledge was not philosophical or scientific knowledge desired by the Greeks, but practical knowledge that would give them blessing and fulfillment."[336]
"The problem was not the fruit on the tree; it was the pair on the ground!"[337]
Ignorance or disregard of God's Word makes one very vulnerable to temptation (Ps. 119:11). These conditions produce distrust, dissatisfaction, and finally disobedience. Failure to appreciate God's goodness leads to distrust of His goodness. God's prohibitions as well as His provisions are for our welfare.
"The root of sin should be understood. The foundation of all sin lies in man's desire of self-assertion and his determination to be independent of God. Adam and Eve chafed under the restriction laid upon them by the command of God, and it was in opposition to this that they asserted themselves, and thereby fell. Man does not like to be dependent upon another, and subject to commands upon another, and subject to commands from without. He desires to go his own way, to be his own master; and as a consequence he sins, and becomes 'lord of himself, that heritage of woe.'"[338]
"The basic position of man in rebellion against God is that man is at the centre of the universe, that he is autonomous—here lies his rebellion."[339]
"Since the day that Adam took the fruit of the tree of knowledge, man has been engaged in deciding what is good and what is evil."[340]
God has always asked people to believe and trust His promise that His will for us will result in our blessing. But Satan has always urged us to have experiences that will result in even greater blessings. He says: Try it; you'll like it! But God says: Trust me, and you'll live. Satan's appeal to get us to experience something, just to assure ourselves of its goodness, directly contradicts God's will for us. It is the way of sight rather than the way of faith.
Adam chose to obey his wife rather than God (cf. 3:17).
"… Adam would never have dared oppose God's authority unless he had disbelieved in God's Word."[341]
"In this integrity [i.e., in his unfallen state] man by free will had the power, if he so willed, to attain eternal life. Yet his choice of good and evil was free, and not that alone, but the highest rectitude was in his mind and will, and all the organic parts were rightly composed to obedience, until in destroying himself he corrupted his own blessings."[342]
"Now we need bear only this in mind: man was far different at the first creation from his whole posterity, who, deriving their origin from him in his corrupted state, have contracted from him a hereditary taint. For, the individual parts of his soul were formed to uprightness, the soundness of his mind stood firm, and his will was free to choose the good. But the reason he [God] did not sustain man by the virtue of perseverance [i.e., keep him from sinning] lies hidden in his plan "[343]
Some commentators have interpreted eating the forbidden fruit as a euphemism for having sexual intercourse.[344] They say that the original sin was a sexual sin. However, the text makes such an interpretation impossible. Eve sinned first (v. 6), she sinned alone (v. 6), and besides, God had previously approved sex (1:28).
3:7 The separation (spiritual death) that sin produces in man's relationship with God stands out clearly in verses 7 ad 8. Adam and Eve's "new knowledge," that the serpent promised would make them as God, actually taught them that they were no longer even like each other. They were ashamed of their nakedness and "sewed fig leaves together" in order to hide their differences from each other.[345] Perhaps they chose fig leaves because they are large and strong.
"Adam and Eve's nakedness (2:25) does not idealize nudity but shows why human beings must wear clothes. With the Fall came a tragic loss of innocence (together with resulting shame). When people's minds are enlightened by the gospel, they understand their moral frailty and practice customs of dress that shield them against sexual temptation."[346]
This verse marks the beginning of the second dispensation, the dispensation of Conscience (or moral responsibility). Adam and Eve had failed in their responsibility under the dispensation of Innocence; they were now sinners. They had rebelled against a specific command of God (2:16-17), and this rebellion marked a transition from theoretical to experiential knowledge of good and evil. Their new responsibility now became to do all known good, to abstain from all known evil, and to approach God through blood sacrifice, which anticipated the sacrifice of Christ. As a period of testing for humanity, the dispensation of Conscience ended with the Flood. However people continued to be morally responsible to God as He added further revelations of Himself and His will in succeeding ages (cf. Acts 14:14-16; Rom. 2:15; 2 Cor. 4:2).
3:8 The "cool" of the day is literally the "wind" of the day. God came to Adam and Eve in this wind. He came in a wind earlier in Creation (1:2) and later to Job (Job 38:1), Israel (Exod. 20:18-21; cf. Deut. 5:25), and Elijah (1 Kings 19:11).
"Jeffrey Niehaus has proposed a different translation of the verse, as follows: 'Then the man and his wife heard the thunder of Yahweh God as he was going back and forth in the garden in the wind of the storm and they hid from Yahweh God among the trees of the garden.'"[347]
"Though unlikely to be adopted by published Bibles anytime soon and not seen by all scholars as proving the presence of a storm theophany in the passage, Niehaus's translation of Genesis 3:8 remains the correct one. The verse is about God's appearance in the wind of a storm, not the cool of the day."[348]
"A more complete transformation could not be imagined. The trust of innocence is replaced by the fear of guilt. The trees that God created for man to look at (2:9) are now his hiding place to prevent God seeing him."[349]
Eve did not die at once physically, but she did die at once spiritually. She experienced alienation in her relationship with God. "Death" means separation in the Bible, never annihilation. Sin always results in alienation: theologically (between God and man), sociologically (between man and man), psychologically (between man and himself), and ecologically (between man and nature). We might also add, sexually (between men and women) and domestically (between husbands and wives).
Three kinds of death appear in Scripture: physical—separation of the body and soul (the material and immaterial parts of the person), spiritual—separation of the person and God, and eternal—permanent separation of the person and God.
The Apostle Paul wrote that Eve was "deceived" (1 Tim. 2:14). This does not mean that women are by nature more easily subject to deception than men.
"There is nothing in Scripture to suggest that the woman was inferior to the man in any way or more susceptible to temptation than he was."[350]
"The tempter addresses himself to the woman, probably not because she is more open to temptation and prone to sin, for that is hardly the conception of the Old Testament elsewhere. The reason may have lain in this, that the woman had not personally received the prohibition from God, as Adam had."[351]
Eve may have received God's command through Adam. Perhaps Satan appealed to Eve because she was not only under God's authority—but also under her husband's authority—and, therefore, more inclined to think that God was withholding something from her.
"It is interesting to observe that when this sin is referred to throughout Scripture, it is not referred to as the sin of Eve—but rather as the sin of Adam! The phrase in verse 6, 'with her,' seems to suggest that Adam was at Eve's side when she was tempted by Satan. As God's theocratic administrator, and as the appointed head of the family, it was Adam's responsibility to safeguard Eve and to assure that she remained in submission to the command of God. But Adam failed in his God-given responsibility and permitted Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit."[352]
Adam, however, "was not deceived" (1 Tim. 2:14). He sinned with his eyes wide open (v. 6b). Eve's sin was a sin of initiative, whereas Adam's sin was one of acquiescence.[353] Too much aggressiveness in a woman, and too much passivity in a man, still are tendencies of the respective sexes. Death "passed unto all men" (Rom. 5:12) when Adam sinned—because Adam, not Eve, was the head of the human race under God's administration (cf. 3:18-23).[354]
The timeless lesson of these verses is that victory over the temptation to violate God's good will depends on a thorough knowledge of God's Word and an unwavering confidence in God's goodness. As Israel faced temptations to depart from God's revealed will, from the pagans she encountered, this record of the Fall would have provided an encouragement to remain faithful, as it does for us today. Often these temptations attract because they promise superior blessing and fulfillment—even divinity. Therefore knowing God's Word is extremely important (cf. Deut. 6:5-9, 13-25; Ps. 119:9-16). Satan tempted Jesus similar to the way that he tempted Eve. But Jesus overcame victoriously by accurately using the Word of God to remain faithful to the will of God. True wisdom comes by obeying, not disobeying, God's Word.
God's confrontation of the sinners 3:9-13
This section of verses begins to relate the effects of the Fall. We now see the God who acted as Creator and Benefactor in chapters 1 and 2, acting as Judge (cf. 1:3-4). He first questioned the offenders in order to obtain a confession, then announced new conditions for life, and finally provided for the sinners graciously. God's grace is His divine favor, forgiveness, and righteousness freely granted. The sinners' responsibility was to confess their sins and to accept and trust in God's provision for them (cf. 1 John 1:9). Unfortunately they did not confess their sins but blamed others for them.
"Note, Though [sic though] God knows all our sins, yet he will know them from us, and requires from us an ingenuous [childlike] confession of them; not that he may be informed, but that we may be humbled."[355]
Note also that God took the initiative in seeking out the sinners in order to re-establish a relationship with them. Evidence of God's love is His unwillingness to abandon those He loved, even when they failed to do His will. His approach was tender as well as gracious (vv. 9, 11, 13). He asked Adam and Eve: "Where are you?" (v. 9), not because He did not know, but because He wanted them to know that He was concerned for them.
"In … spite of the apparent similarity in expression to pagan religions the anthropomorphisms of the Old Testament reveal all the more remarkably a sharply contrasting concept of deity."[356]
"It's unfortunate that some people have made an issue over what pronouns we should use when referring to God. The Bible consistently uses 'he,' but not because the male gender is more godlike. God is spirit, and spirit beings (including angels) have no gender. For some reason, people who object to God being called 'he' don't object when Satan is called 'he'; yet Satan is also a spirit creature who is sexless."[357]
The fact that Adam viewed God's good gift to him (Eve) as the source of his trouble, shows how far he fell (v. 12). He virtually accused God of causing him to fall, by giving him what he now regarded as a bad gift. Contrast David's proper response to his sin in 2 Samuel 12:13.
The text records several effects of the Fall on Adam and Eve.
1. They felt guilt and shame (v. 7).
2. They tried to change these conditions by their own efforts (v. 7).
3. They fled from God's presence out of fear of Him (vv. 8, 10).
4. They tried to blame their sin on another rather than confessing their personal responsibility (vv. 12, 13).
The judgment of the guilty 3:14-21
As the result of man's disobedience to God, the creation suffered a curse and began to deteriorate. Evolution teaches that man is improving his condition through self-effort. The Bible teaches that man is destroying his condition through sin. Having been thrice blessed by God (1:22, 28; 2:3), the creation now experienced a triple curse (3:14, 17; 4:11).
"In the Bible, to curse means to invoke God's judgment on someone, usually for some particular offense."[358]
Nevertheless, God also began the process of restoration. Verses 14 through 19 reveal the terms of the second major biblical covenant, the Adamic Covenant. Here God specified the conditions under which fallen man was to live (until God lifts His curse on creation; cf. Rom. 8:21). The elements of this covenant can be summarized as follows: God cursed the serpent (v. 14), but promised a Redeemer (v. 15). He changed the status of the woman in two respects: she would experience sorrow and pain in motherhood, and continuing headship by the man (v. 16). God also changed Adam and Eve's light workload, in Eden, to burdensome labor and inevitable sorrow, resulting from His curse on the earth (vv. 17-19). Finally, He promised certain physical death for Adam and all his descendants (v. 19).
Effects on the serpent 3:14-15
God's judgment on each trespasser (the snake, the woman, and the man) involved both a life function and a relationship.[359] In each case, the punishment corresponded to the nature of the crime.
"Curses are uttered against the serpent and the ground, but not against the man and woman, implying that the blessing has not been utterly lost. It is not until human murder, a transgression against the imago Dei [image of God], that a person (Cain) receives the divine curse "[360]
1. The snake had been "cunning" (3:1; Heb. 'arum), but now it was "cursed" (Heb. 'arur). It had to move on its belly (v. 14). Some commentators assumed from this that the snake had legs before God cursed it.[361] Others take this curse figuratively as a reference to the resultant despised condition of the snake (cf. Lev. 11:42).[362] Josephus wrote that God also deprived the serpent of speech at this time.[363] But there is no biblical support for this conclusion.
2. The serpent would eat dust (v. 14). Since snakes do not literally feed on dust, many interpreters take this statement figuratively. Eating dust is an expression used in other ancient Near Eastern writings to describe the lowest of all forms of life. In the Bible it also describes humiliation and total defeat (cf. Ps. 44:25; 72:9; Isa. 25:12; 49:23; 65:25; Mic. 7:17).[364] Another explanation is that this is the language of appearance: snakes appear to eat dust now, since they glide along the ground on their bellies.
God revealed later through Isaiah that serpents will eat dust during the Millennium (the thousand-year earthly reign of Christ, Isa. 65:25). Presently snakes eat plants and animals. Perhaps God will yet fulfill this part of what He predicted here in Genesis, concerning snakes, in the millennial kingdom. This is a literal interpretation. If this is correct, then perhaps we should also take the former part of the curse literally as well, namely, that snakes did not travel on their bellies before the Fall. Alternatively, Isaiah may have meant that serpents will be harmless (defeated, no longer a threat) after God lifts the curse on creation in the Millennium. I prefer this interpretation.
Was it fair of God to curse the serpent, since it was, presumably, the instrument that Satan used to tempt Eve? Leupold cited similar situations (6:7; 7:21; Josh. 7:24) and quoted Chrysostom as follows:
"God destroys the instrument that brought His creature to fall 'just as a loving father, when punishing the murderer of his son, might snap in two the sword or dagger with which the murder had been committed.'"[365]
3. There would be antagonism (enmity) between the serpent and human beings (v. 15a). This obviously exists between snakes and people, but God's intention in this verse seems to include the person behind the snake (Satan) as well as, and even more than, the snake itself.
"… the seed of the serpent refers to natural humanity whom he has led into rebellion against God. Humanity is now divided into two communities: the elect, who love God, and the reprobate, who love self (John 8:31-32, 44; 1 John 3:8). Each of the characters of Genesis will be either of the seed of the woman that reproduces her spiritual propensity, or of the seed of the Serpent that reproduces his unbelief."[366]
4. Mankind (through Christ) would eventually destroy the serpent, though the serpent would wound mankind (including Christ; v. 15b). This is a prophecy of the victory of the ultimate "Seed" of the woman (Messiah) over Satan (cf. Rev. 19:1-5; Gal. 3:16, 19; Heb. 2:14; 1 John 3:8).[367]
"The comparative importance of predictive prophecy as related to other aspects of Bible truth is indicated by the fact that at least one-fifth of the Bible was, at the time it was written, an anticipation of the future."[368]
"The bruising of the head suggests that the serpent's wound will be fatal; the bruising of the heel is a warning that even the victor will not come away unscathed."[369]
Most interpreters have recognized this verse as the first biblical promise and prophecy of the provision of salvation from sin (the protoevangelium or "first gospel").[370] The rest of the book, in fact the whole Old Testament, proceeds to point ahead to that Seed: Jesus Christ.[371]
"The snake, for the author, is representative of someone or something else. The snake is represented by his 'seed.' When that 'seed' is crushed, the head of the snake is crushed. Consequently more is at stake in this brief passage than the reader is at first aware of. A program is set forth. A plot is established that will take the author far beyond this or that snake and his 'seed.' It is what the snake and His [sic his] 'seed' represent that lies at the center of the author's focus. With that 'one' lies the 'enmity' that must be crushed."[372]
"The text in context provides an outline that is correct and clear in pattern but not complete in all details. Numerous questions are left unanswered. When Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, the details of the climax were filled in and specified, but the text does not demand to be reinterpreted. Nor does it demand interpretation in a way not suggested in context."[373]
"The patriarchs, and the ancient world in general, were perfectly acquainted with the grand primeval promise of Eden, and they knew right well that the bruising of the heel of the promised seed implied his death, and that the curse could be removed from the world only by the death of the grand Deliverer. … There is hardly a people or kindred on earth in whose mythology it is not shadowed forth."[374]
Some interpreters have believed that this is the first prediction of the virgin birth of Messiah, since it is specifically the seed of "the woman" and not the man that would crush the serpent.[375] I believe that this language allows for a virgin birth but does not necessarily predict it.[376]
God cursed all animals and the whole creation because of the Fall (Rom. 8:20), but He made the snake the most despicable of all the animals for its roll in the Fall.
"The snake is a natural symbol of sin. It comes spontaneously to the mind; for sin, like the serpent, is a monster of hideous mien which creeps in by stealth and infuses poison by its bite."[377]
"Words possess power. God's words of blessing and of curse are most powerful. They determine our lives."[378]
J. Barton Payne took this cursing of the serpent as an indication that the fall of Satan occurred almost simultaneously with the fall of Adam and Eve.[379] This view has not found much acceptance. Most interpreters believe that Satan was created before or at the same time as the cosmos was created.[380]
Effects on women 3:16
1. Eve would experience increased "pain" in bearing children. There may have been some pain in the process of bearing children even before the Fall, but Eve and her daughters would experience increased pain. This view assumes that there was pain before the Fall. Or God may have meant that He would "greatly multiply" the pain in contrast to just making childbearing painful. The HCSB has "I will intensify your labor pains, and you will bear children in anguish." Women's joy in bearing children would be diminished because of the pain involved in it.[381] "Pain and childbirth" (a more literal translation than "pain in childbirth") is probably another hendiadys in the Hebrew text, meaning "painful childbirth" (cf. 1:2; 4:12; 9:2; Ps. 9:2).
The text does not say that God promised more conception as well as more pain, as the NKJV translation "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception" implies.[382]
2. Women's desire would be for their husbands. There have been several different interpretations of what the woman's "desire" would be.
a. The phrase "your desire will be for your husband" means that a woman's desire would be subject to her husband's desire.
"Her desire, whatever it may be, will not be her own. She cannot do what she wishes, for her husband rules over her like a despot and whatever she wishes is subject to his will."[383]
b. The woman will have a great longing for, yearning for, and psychological dependence on her husband.
"This yearning is morbid. It is not merely sexual yearning. It includes the attraction that woman experiences for man which she cannot root from her nature. Independent feminists may seek to banish it, but it persists in cropping out."[384]
c. The woman will desire to dominate the relationship with her husband. This view rests on the parallel Hebrew construction in 4:7. This view seems best to me.
"The 'curse' here describes the beginning of the battle of the sexes. After the Fall, the husband no longer rules easily; he must fight for his headship. The woman's desire is to control her husband (to usurp his divinely appointed headship), and he must master her, if he can. Sin had corrupted both the willing submission of the wife and the loving headship of the husband. And so the rule of love founded in paradise is replaced by struggle, tyranny, domination, and manipulation."[385]
"This is the first reference to the primacy of the man. There could have been no question of primacy while the man and woman lived together in complete harmony and obedience to the word of God. Rule is necessary only where disorder has set in—in this case as a consequence of their disobedience."[386]
d. The woman would continue to desire to have sexual relations with her husband even though, after the Fall, she experienced much pain in childbearing.
"… the woman's desire for the man and his rule over her are not the punishment but the conditions in which the woman will suffer punishment. It may be concluded that, in spite of the Fall, the woman will have a longing for intimacy with man involving more than sexual intimacy.[387]
This view takes this statement of God as a blessing rather than a curse.
Effects on humanity generally 3:17-19
In view of Adam's sin, we might have expected God to curse him, but, graciously, God cursed the ground for his sake.[388]
1. Adam would have to work hard ("hard labor," "painful labor" NKJV, "struggle" CEV) to obtain a living from "the ground" (vv. 17-18).[389] Adam already had received the privilege of enjoying the garden (2:15), but this had not required "painful toil" (NIV).
"As for the man, his punishment consists in the hardship and skimpiness of his livelihood, which he now must seek for himself. The woman's punishment struck at the deepest root of her being as wife and mother, the man's strikes at the innermost nerve of his life: his work, his activity, and provision for sustenance."[390]
"If Adam had not sinned, he had not sweated."[391]
"These punishments represent retaliatory justice. Adam and Eve sinned by eating; they would suffer in order to eat. She manipulated her husband; she would be mastered by her husband. The serpent destroyed the human race; he will be destroyed."[392]
"In drawing a contrast between the condition of the land before and after the Fall, the author shows that the present condition of the land was not the way it was intended to be. Rather, the state of the land was the result of human rebellion. In so doing, the author has paved the way for a central motif in the structure of biblical eschatology [study of the end times], the hope of a 'new heaven and a new earth' (cf. Isa 65:17: [sic ;] Ro 8:22-24; Rev 21:1)."[393]
2. People would "return to dust" when they died (v. 19). Rather than living forever, experiencing physical immortality, people would now die physically and experience physical mortality (cf. Rom. 5:12-14).
"Genesis 3:19 does not attribute the cause of death to the original composition of the human body, so that man would ultimately have died anyway, but states merely one of the consequences of death: Since the human body was formed from the dust of the earth, it shall, upon death, be resolved to earth again."[394]
Verse 18 shows the reversal of the land's condition before and after the Fall. Verse 19 shows the same for mankind's condition.
"Adam and Eve failed … to observe the restrictions of the Edenic covenant [1:26-31; 2:16-17]. Innocence was lost and conscience was born."[395]
"Having failed under the Edenic covenant, human beings were then faced with the provisions of the Adamic covenant [3:14-19]. That covenant was unconditional in the sense that Adam and Eve's descendants would be unable by human effort to escape the consequences of sin."[396]
"A ray of light is provided, however, in the Adamic covenant because God promised that a redeemer would come [3:15]. This is the introduction of the great theme of grace and redemption found in the Scriptures."[397]
"Unless tempered by the grace of God and changed by subsequent promises, people continue to the present time to labor under the provisions of the Adamic covenant."[398]
"How admirably the satisfaction our Lord Jesus made by his death and sufferings answered to the sentence here passed upon our first parents. (1) Did travailing pains come in with sin? We read of the travail of Christ's soul (Isa. liii. 11). (2) Did subjection come in with sin? Christ was made under the law, Gal. iv. 4. (3) Did the curse come in with sin? Christ was made a curse for us, died a cursed death, Gal. iii. 13. (4) Did thorns come in with sin? He was crowned with thorns for us. (5) Did sweat come in with sin? He for us did sweat as it were great drops of blood. (6) Did sorrow come in with sin? He was a man of sorrows, his soul was, in his agony, exceedingly sorrowful. (7) Did death come in with sin? He became obedient unto death. Thus is the plaster [bandage] as wide as the wound. Blessed be God for Jesus Christ!"[399]
Additional effects on Adam and Eve 3:20-21
Adam and Eve accepted their judgment from God and did not rebel against it. We see this in Adam naming his wife "Eve," which means "the mother of all the living." This is a personal name that defines her destiny (v. 20). Adam believed that life would continue in spite of God's curse. This was an act of faith and an expression of hope. Adam believed God's promise that Eve would bear children (v. 16).
"This may well be at once the most astounding, the most profound, and the most exuberant thing the man ever did."[400]
Adam's wife's first name, "Woman" (2:23), looked back on her origin, whereas her second name, "Eve," anticipated her destiny. "Eve" is related to the Hebrew verb that means "to live."
"How astonishing the grace which at this moment gave promise of a Saviour and conferred on her who had the disgrace of introducing sin the future honor of introducing that Deliverer (I Tim. 2:15)."[401]
1. Note that before God sent Adam and Eve out into a new environment, He provided them with "garments of skin" (v. 21) that were adequate for their needs (cf. Rom. 3:21-26). Their own provision of fig leaves (v. 7) was not adequate. He did for them what they could not do for themselves. This is another indication of God's loving care and grace for people.
"Clothing is now Divinely commanded; though despised by pagan idolaters and modern worldlings."[402]
Though I would not say this was a divine command, God's provision of clothing certainly suggests that God intended Adam and Eve to wear clothing.
"… he [Adam] had to learn that sin could be covered not by a bunch of leaves snatched from a bush as he passed by and that would grow again next year, but only by pain and blood."[403]
Gleason Archer thought it reasonable to assume that when God provided animal skins for Adam and Eve to wear that He also instructed them about the significance of the atoning blood of the substitute sacrifice. He also believed that they passed this understanding on to Cain and Abel.[404] There is no way to prove or disprove this theory.
2. Furthermore, God prevented Adam and Eve from living perpetually in their fallen state (vv. 22-24).[405] Thus physical death was a blessing as well as a curse.
Expulsion from the garden 3:22-24
Verse 22 shows that man's happiness (good) does not consist in his being like God as much as it depends on his being with God (cf. Ps. 16:11).[406] "Like one of Us" probably means like heavenly beings (God and the angels; cf. 1:26).[407] This clause does not imply the existence of more than one God.[408]
"He [God] turned him [man] out, from the garden to the common. … But man was only sent to till the ground out of which he was taken. He was sent to a place of toil, not to a place of torment. He was sent to the ground, not to the grave—to the workhouse, not to the dungeon, not to the prison-house—to hold the plough not to drag the chain."[409]
"Cherubim" (v. 24) are represented in the Old Testament as surrounding and symbolizing God's presence. They are equivalent to God's bodyguards, standing guards, or sentries. Ancient oriental iconography (visual images and symbols used in a work of art) pictured them as human-headed winged lions guarding holy places.[410] Moses pictured them here blocking access to the tree of life with a "flaming sword." Evidently eating of "the tree of life" would have caused Adam and Eve to stop aging (cf. Rev. 22:2). Sculptures of cherubim guarded the ark of the covenant later, just as real cherubim earlier guarded the tree of life in the garden. The laws contained in the ark were a source of life for the Israelites. The golden lampstand in the tabernacle represented a tree of life and the presence of God.[411]
As people moved east from the Garden of Eden, they settled in Shinar and built Babel (Gr. Babylon, 11:2). When Lot departed from Abram, he moved east to Sodom (13:11). When Abram returned in victory from the battle against the eastern kings (led by King Chedolaomer), he came back to the Promised Land and the city of Salem ("Peace," 14:17-20). Thus God's presence continued to reside in the Garden (Promised Land?) in a localized sense, and movement to the east from there typically involved departing from Him.
"No matter how hard people try to do away with male dominion, agonizing labor, painful childbearing, and death, these evils will continue because sin is present. They are the fruits of sin."[412]
Rebellion against God results in suffering and death, but confession secures His gracious protective care. This section of Genesis (ch. 3) explains why human beings toil and agonize all their lives and finally die. Sin is responsible, and only the removal of sin will end this condition. This pericope presents God as a Savior as well as a Judge. Moses introduced God's required way for covering sin, namely, the death of an innocent substitute. Consequently there is hope in the midst of tragedy.[413]
"The chapter simply does not support the concept that one finds fulfillment and bliss in liberating oneself from subordination to God's word, his permissions and his denials. Man is not suddenly metamorphosed from a puppet to a free and independent thinker. In fact, he never was an automaton. If man had lacked the ability to choose, the prohibition from God not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil would have been superfluous. One is not told to abstain from something unless he has the capacity not to abstain."[414]
Thus Genesis 3 introduces us to the fact of human freedom, as well as reminding us of divine sovereignty.[415]
Why did God permit the serpent to tempt Adam and Eve?
"Character must be developed, and it can only be developed in the presence of temptation."[416]
"Sin, … according [to] the Scriptures, is permitted, that the justice of God may be known in its punishment, and his grace in its forgiveness."[417]
"Take away the first three chapters of Genesis, and you cannot maintain a true Christian position nor give Christianity's answers [to the big questions that people are asking today]."[418]
2. The murder of Abel 4:1-16
Chapter 4 shows the spread of sin from Adam's family to the larger society that his descendants produced. Cain became the first murderer and Abel the first martyr. Chapter 3 records the root of sin, and chapter 4 the fruit of sin. Not only did sin affect everyone, but people became increasingly more wicked as time passed. Human self-assertion leads to violence. Verses 1 through 16 show that the Fall affected Adam and Eve's children as well as themselves. Verses 17 through 26 trace what became of Cain and Seth and their descendants. Note that the chapter begins and ends with the subject of worship.
God had warned Adam and Eve about sin. Even so, Cain murdered his brother—the beginning of sibling rivalry—because God accepted Abel's offering but not his own. Sibling rivalry plagued each of the godly families in Genesis. Cain denied responsibility for his sin and objected to the severity of God's punishment. God graciously provided protection for Cain in response to his complaint.
There are structural and conceptual parallels between this pericope and the previous one (2:4—3:24).[419]
A Scene 1 (narrative): Cain and Abel are active, and Yahweh is passive (vv. 2b-5).
B Scene 2 (dialogue): Yahweh questions Cain (vv. 6-7).
C Scene 3 (dialogue and narrative): Cain and Abel are alone (v. 8).
B' Scene 4 (dialogue): Yahweh confronts Cain (vv. 9-14).
A' Scene 5 (narrative): Yahweh is active, and Cain is passive (vv. 15-16).
Both stories, this one and 2:4 through 3:24, conclude with the sinners leaving God's presence and going to live east of Eden (3:24; 4:16).
"Cain's sin, jealousy of his brother, is the replica of Adam's—jealousy of Yahweh's privilege."[420]
"… though the writer of Genesis wants to highlight the parallels between the two stories, he does not regard the murder of Abel simply as a rerun of the fall. There is development: sin is more firmly entrenched and humanity is further alienated from God."[421]
4:1 The name "Cain" sounds like the Hebrew word translated "I have acquired" and means "possession" or "acquisition," a sign of his own primary proneness. His name is related to a Hebrew word meaning "craftsman" or "metalworker."
Was Eve thanking God for helping her bear a son (Cain)?[422] Or was she boasting that she had created a man (Cain) as God had created a man (Adam, v. 1)?[423] The former alternative seems preferable to me (cf. v. 25).
4:2 "Abel," from the Hebrew hebel, means "breath," "vapor," "exhalation," or "what ascends." As things turned out, his life was short, like a vapor. Perhaps his parents gave him this name after his death, in view of the comparative shortness of his life. Another possibility is that "human existence marred by sin had impressed man with the emptiness of it all."[424] "Abel" also means "meadow" elsewhere in the Old Testament.
"Nearly all Bible names were significant, and were conferred with reference to some circumstance connected with the birth of the child."[425]
4:3-5 Why did God have "regard" for Abel's offering and not Cain's (v. 4)? It was because Abel had "faith" (Heb. 11:4). What did Abel believe that Cain did not? The Bible does not say specifically. The answer may lie in one or more of the following explanations.[426]
1. Some commentators believed Abel's attitude reveals his faith. Cain's improper attitude toward God is evident in verse 5.[427]
2. Others say Abel's faith is evident in his bringing the best ("fat portions") of his flock (v. 4), whereas Moses did not describe Cain's offering as his best (v. 3).
"He [the writer] characterizes Abel's offerings from the flocks as 'from the firstborn' and 'from their fat.' By offering the firstborn Abel signified that he recognized God as the Author and Owner of Life. In common with the rest of the ancient Near East, the Hebrews believed that the deity, or lord of the manor, was entitled to the first share of all produce. The firstfruits of plants and the firstborn of animals and man were his."[428]
"Abel's offering conformed with this theology; Cain's did not. In such a laconic story the interpreter may not ignore that whereas Abel's gift is qualified by 'firstborn,' the parallel 'firstfruits' does not modify Cain's."[429]
"Abel also offered the 'fat' which in the so-called 'P' [Priestly] material belonged to the Lord and was burned symbolically by the priests. This tastiest and best burning part of the offering represented the best. Abel's sacrifice, the interlocutor aims to say, passed the test with flying colors. Cain's sacrifice, however, lacks a parallel to 'fat.'"[430]
"Every unprejudiced reader of the Bible must feel that sacrifices constitute the centre of the Old Testament."[431]
3. Possibly Cain's bad attitude (he "became very angry and his face was gloomy") resulted in his not offering the best to God. In other words, both options 1 and 2 could be correct.[432] I prefer this explanation. Evidently the sin that led Cain to murder his brother was envy.[433]
"Abel went out of his way to please God (which meant he had faith in God, Heb. 11:6), whereas Cain was simply discharging a duty."[434]
"We think the absence of 'firstfruits' for Cain in juxtaposition with Seth's [sic Abel's] 'firstborn' would not have been lost on the Mosaic audience."[435]
"Both giver and gift were under the scrutiny of God. Cain's offering did not measure up because he retained the best of his produce for himself."[436]
"The issue was not just between what the two sons brought to the Lord; there was also a significant difference in their hearts. … True worship happens only when both heart and action are right before God. … As for Cain, it seems things were even worse: he was wrong in both his heart and his actions. Abel, on the other hand, had both heart and actions that were pleasurable to God."[437]
4. Many believe that Abel realized the need for the death of a living substitute to atone for his sins, but Cain did not. If Abel understood this, he may have learned it by divine revelation that Scripture did not record explicitly.[438] Perhaps Cain and Abel learned that an animal sacrifice satisfied God, whereas a vegetable sacrifice did not, from the fact that the fig leaves that Adam and Eve used to cover their nakedness were not satisfactory, but an animal skin was (3:7, 21). Adam and Eve provided the fig leaves, but God provided the animal skins. Thus the contrast in the case of Cain and Abel may also have been between what man provides (works) and what God provides (grace).
"Faith always presupposes a Divine revelation to which it is the response "[439]
"The general requisites of all sacrifices [in the Old Testament] were—that they should be brought of such things, in such place and manner, and through such mediatorial agency, as God had appointed."[440]
"Whatever the cause of God's rejection of Cain's offering, the narrative itself focuses our attention on Cain's response. It is there that the narrative seeks to make its point."[441]
God graciously questioned Cain, as He had Adam and Eve (v. 6; cf. 3:9, 11), to elicit Cain's admission of sin with a view toward repentance, not simply to scold him. Had Cain corrected his attitude and repented, he would not have proceeded to kill his brother. God gave him the opportunity and the encouragement to "do well" (v. 7). Adam reluctantly admitted his guilt, but Cain tried to cover it up by lying. Cain was "much more hardened than were the first human pair."[442] "Sin is lurking at the door" (v. 7) probably means that the power and tragic consequences of sin could master the person who opens the door to it (cf. 3:16).
"The consequences of his reaction to God's correction are more far-reaching than the initial sin itself, for if he pursues sin's anger, it will result in sin's mastery over him. This is his decision. It is possible for Cain to recover from sin quickly if he chooses the right thing."[443]
The Apostle John revealed the reason that Cain killed Abel in 1 John 3:12: "… his own works were evil and his brother's righteous." Abel's attitude of faith in God resulted in righteous works that produced guilt in unrighteous Cain. This is pattern of cause and effect that has continued forever. The seriousness of Cain's sin is clear from God's repeated references to Abel as Cain's "brother" (vv. 9, 10, 11). Jesus spoke of Cain's murder of Abel as a historical fact (Matt. 23:35). This was the first case of religious persecution.
"If you want to find out Cain's condition of heart you will find it after the service which he pretended to render; you know a man best out of church "[444]
Later, under the Mosaic Law, the fact that a killing took place in a field, out of the range of help, was to be taken as proof of premeditation (cf. Deut. 22:25-27).
"Cain and his unrighteous offspring served as a reminder to Israel that its destiny was measured in the scales of ethical behavior."[445]
4:6-8 Violence by Cain followed disobedience by Adam and Eve. Violence in a culture often reflects and results from rebellion against God and self-assertion.
4:9-10 As in chapter 3, God came investigating the sin with questions.[446] In the case of Adam and Eve, the result was God cursing the ground and people generally, but here the result is His cursing Cain, another evidence that wickedness was worsening.
"As always, God does not ask ("Where is Abel your brother?") in order to secure information. The question is pedagogic, in order to remind Cain that God knows where Abel is."[447]
Cain's response to God's judgment was self-pity because of his punishment, rather than repentance for his crime and an expression of remorse over the extent of his iniquity.[448] No one would be his "keeper" (cf. "Am I my brother's keeper?" v. 9).
4:11-14 Note also that human immorality again impacted earth's ecology (v. 12; cf. 3:17).
Cain's punishment consisted of his being banished from God's presence ("I will be hidden from Your face," v. 14) and unable to enjoy his family's company and the peacefulness of a settled agrarian life ("I will be a wanderer and a drifter on the earth," v. 14; cf. vv. 11-12). He would have to wander from place to place seeking food, rather than living a sedentary life. This punishment was appropriate and just, since he had alienated himself from his brother and God by his horrible crime.
"Cain is not being condemned to a Bedouin-like existence; the terminology is too extreme to describe such a life-style. Rather it seems likely that the curse on Cain reflects the expulsion from the family that was the fate in tribal societies of those who murdered close relatives. 'To be driven away from the land' (cf. v. 14) is to have all relationships, particularly with the family, broken. Moreover, it is to have one's relationship with the LORD broken."[449]
"Nomadism according to the Sumerian flood story is a plight from which the gods rescued man; according to the Bible a nomadic existence was a judgment imposed on the first murderer. This contrast fits in with the overall optimism of Mesopotamia which believes in human progress over against the biblical picture of the inexorable advance of sin. It would seem likely that the other human achievements listed here—farming, metalwork, and music—are also seen by Genesis as somehow under the shadow of Cain's sin."[450]
Cain's sin resulted in his being "driven" out (v. 14; cf. 3:23). Note again that sin results in broken relationships and alienation, and alienation from God leads to fear of other people ("whoever finds me will kill me," v. 14; cf. Job 15:20-25). The population had apparently increased by this time, since Cain feared retaliation by any number of other people (cf. 5:4-5).
4:15 God in grace allowed Cain and his family to continue to live under His care, but apparently without salvation.
The commentators have interpreted Cain's "mark" in a variety of ways. One view is that it was partial paralysis, based on the meaning of the word used to translate the Hebrew word in the Septuagint. An old Jewish interpretation understood it to be the word "Yahweh," and another viewed it as a long horn growing out of the middle of Cain's forehead. Some medieval paintings represent Cain with a horn on his head following this view. Another idea is that it was some other identifying mark on Cain's body, in view of parallels with other marks that identify and protect their bearers in Scripture (cf. Ezek. 9:4; Rev. 7:3; 13:16-18; 14:1).[451]
Still other interpreters believe that the mark was a verification of God's promise to Cain. This view rests on the usual meaning of the Hebrew word translated "sign" in the Old Testament (cf. Judg. 6:36-40; 2 Kings 2:9-12; et al.), which the Hebrew construction supports here.[452]
"The parallels with texts relating to the cities of refuge … suggest that Cain's 'sign' may have been the safety he found in the building of a city. His city was a sign of his divine protection from anyone 'who found him.'"[453]
The text does not identify the mark, but it was some identifiable indication that God gave Cain to assure him that he would not die (cf. 21:13, 18; 27:37; 45:7, 9; 46:3 with 21:14; 44:21). Whatever it was, Cain's mark served to protect him, as well as to remind him and others of his punishment by God.
4:16 "Nod" (lit. "homelessness") is a wordplay on the Hebrew term for "vagabond" or "wandering." So the very name of the place where Cain "settled" and lived also reminded him of his sentence.
"The point is more theological than geographical; to be apart from the presence of the Lord is to be a vagabond in a 'vagabond-land.'"[454]
"The ungodly here are portrayed as living on in the world (with a protective mark of grace) without being saved. Their sense of guilt was eased by their cultural development and their geographical expansion."[455]
Cain was a man who did not care to please God. Because he did not, God did not bless ("had no regard") for Cain (v. 5), as He did ("had regard for") Abel (v. 4), who was righteous—a man of faith. Cain's anger and jealousy over Abel's blessing brought disaster on himself. God has preserved his example in order to help us avoid it. Those who worship God must have as their goal to please Him rather than letting envy and hatred ruin their lives (cf. Col. 1:10).
"One of the greatest lessons of this narrative is that God is concerned with sins committed by one man against another."[456]
3. The spread of civilization and sin 4:17-26
Cain prospered even though he rebelled against God. This is another indication of God's grace. Cain's descendants took the lead in building cities, developing music, advancing agriculture, creating weapons, and spreading civilization. However the descendants of Seth made an even more important advance: worshipping God.
The descendants of Cain 4:17-24
"By virtue of being Cain's descendants, the people named in the genealogy all inherit his curse. Thus the Cainite genealogy becomes part of the Yahwist's account of man's increasing sin."[457]
4:17 Cain's "wife" (v. 17) was evidently one of his sisters or nieces, since Adam continued to father "other sons and daughters" besides Cain, Abel, and Seth (5:4).[458] God did not prohibit marrying siblings and close relatives until the Mosaic Law.
"As long as it pleased God to let the human race descend from one pair, it must be conceded that for a time marriage between brothers and sisters was a necessity."[459]
"Because harmful mutations so greatly outnumber any supposed helpful ones, it's considered unwise nowadays (and illegal in many states) to marry someone too closely related to you. Why? Because you greatly increase the odds that bad genes will show up. By the way, you also increase the odds of bringing out really excellent trait combinations. But did you ever hear anybody say, 'Don't marry your first cousin or you'll have a genius for a child?' They don't usually say that, because the odds of something bad happening are far, far, far, far, far greater. That would not have been a problem, by the way, shortly after creation (no problem for Cain and his wife, for example). Until mutations had a chance to accumulate in the human population, no such risk of bad combinations existed."[460]
The "city" that Cain built must not have been very large, though reference to it suggests that the population at this time was increasing rapidly. It was probably no more than a few structures.
4:18-22 "Lamech" (v. 19) was the first bigamist. He deliberately subverted God's will that marriage should consist of only one man and one woman (2:24). "Bigamy" (being married to two spouses at the same time) was common in the ancient Near East, but it was never God's desire (cf. Matt. 19:4-5). God permitted it, however, as He did many other customs of which He disapproved (e.g., divorce, marrying concubines, polygamy, etc.). That is, He allowed people who practiced them to continue to live.
"To be sure, no rebuke from God is directed at Lamech for his violation of the marital arrangement. It is simply recorded. But that is the case with most OT illustrations of polygamy. Abraham is not condemned for cohabiting with Sarah and Hagar, nor is Jacob for marrying simultaneously Leah and Rachel. In fact, however, nearly every polygamous househould [sic household] in the OT suffers most unpleasant and shattering experiences precisely because of this ad hoc [formed] relationship. The domestic struggles that ensue are devastating."[461]
"Cain's family is a microcosm: its pattern of technical prowess and moral failure is that of humanity."[462]
God shows the destructive consequences of sin (cf. 2:24) more often than He states them in the Old Testament. Polygamy is one form of sin.
Polygamy is "… the symptom of an unbalanced view of marriage, which regards it as an institution in which the wife's ultimate raison d'etre [reason for being] is the production of children. [This was the attitude in the ancient world, but there are, of course, additional reasons why people practice polygamy.] Where God had created the woman first and foremost for partnership, society made her in effect a means to an end, even if a noble end, and wrote its view into its marriage contracts."[463]
This is the first occurrence of polygamy (having more than one wife at the same time) in Genesis. We shall find several cases of it throughout the Old Testament. People practiced it widely in the ancient Near East, but it was contrary to the will of God (2:24). Besides indulging the flesh, polygamy was an attempt to ensure the survival of the family by providing male successors.[464] The presence of polygamy in Lamech's generation shows how sin escalated in the marriage relationship following the Fall.
The reference to forging (lit. "sharpening"; also forming, shaping) "iron" implements (v. 22) appears anachronistic [out of place] since, as far as we know, the smelting of iron was not common until the Iron Age—in the second millennium B.C. Perhaps this is a reference to the cold forging of meteoric iron, which was common earlier.[465] Later workers with iron could look back on Lamech as the father of metallurgy.
4:23-24 We could paraphrase the vengeance or retaliation idea in Lamech's mind, as expressed in these verses, more clearly as follows: If I am threatened again, I will retaliate again, much more forcefully than God retaliated agaainst Cain. God threatened His retaliation and vengeance against anyone who retaliated against Cain for being a murderer: "whoever kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him seven times as much" (v. 15). Lamech may have been claiming that he had killed in self-defense. Nevertheless, he was boasting, and he shows himself thereby to be more vengeful in his self-defensive threat than even God Himself (cf. "Vengeance is Mine, and retribution," Deut. 32:35). Jesus taught His disciples to forgive and not take revenge (Matt. 18:22), even as He did (cf. 1 Pet. 2:21-24).
The seven generations from Adam through Cain and Seth, ungodly Lamech (vv. 19-24) and godly Enoch (5:24), stand in sharp contrast to each other. The former man (Lamech) inflicts death, and the latter (Enoch) does not die. Some scholars have called Lamech's poem the "Song of the Sword." Lamech thought himself invincible with his newly acquired, state of the art, weapons.
"Both Cain's antediluvian lineage and the postdiluvian Babel cautioned later Israel that cities founded upon arrogance resulted in violence and ultimately destruction."[466]
The family of Seth 4:25-26
4:25 This verse recalls verse 1 of this chapter, and it signals the conclusion of this section of narrative. Seth's name, from the Hebrew verb translated "granted," and meaning "substitute" or "to set" or "to place," expresses Eve's faith that God would continue to provide seed (descendants) despite death.[467] Seth was set or "appointed" to "take up the work and mission of Abel."[468] Simplicity of life and devotion to God characterized the Sethites, generally speaking. The Cainites, in contrast, became more aggressive and determined to find happiness and fulfillment in their lives apart from God (cf. Luke 16:8).
4:26 Many commentators regarded this verse as the first reference to prayer as we know it in the Bible. Prayer is basic to man's relationship with God, which is a major theme in Genesis. However the phrase "call upon the name of the LORD," in the Pentateuch, usually refers to proclamation (preaching) rather than prayer.[469] Here it probably refers to the beginning of public worship of Yahweh.[470]
"Gen 4 concludes the story of mankind that was cut off in the flood, a tale that opened with Gen 2:4, 'This is the history.' With the aid of a genealogy from Adam to Lamek [sic Lamech], the seventh generation, it traces the development of technology and arts on the one hand and the growth of violence on the other. Only in the last two verses introducing the descendants of Seth do we have glimmers of hope, for from him, as chap. 5 will describe, descended Noah, the survivor of the flood, and it was in Enosh's day that the public worship of God was reintroduced."[471]
Chapter 4 also teaches that it is important for the righteous to preserve the knowledge of God when they live in an ungodly society. The Israelites needed this encouragement as they anticipated entering the Promised Land, as we do today. Jesus taught His disciples the same lesson (Matt. 5:14-15).
C. What became of Adam 5:1—6:8
The story of creation (1:1—2:3) is an introduction to Genesis. The first toledot section (2:4—4:26) explains what became of the creation. In this second toledot section (5:1—6:8) we learn what happened to Adam. The primary purpose of this section appears to be to link the generations of Adam and Noah. After the Fall (ch. 3) the cursed human race continued to multiply and grow worse (ch. 4), and human beings continued to die. Yet the record of Enoch gives hope.
"Genealogies in this book of genealogies serve several purposes, depending in part on the nature of the genealogy. Broad genealogies present only the first generation of descendants (e.g., "the sons of Leah … the sons of Rachel …" in Gen. 35:23-26; cf. 6:9-10; 25:13-15). Deep genealogies list sequential descendants, in this book usually numbering from two to ten. (There are ten generations from Adam through Seth to Noah. In the eleventh generation the genealogy becomes segmented.) Linear genealogies display only depth (e.g., "Cain … gave birth to Enoch. To Enoch was born Irad …" 4:17-18; cf. 5:1-31; 11:10-26; 36:31-39, 40). Segmented genealogies display both depth and breadth (e.g., "This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth. … The sons of Japheth: Gomer … The sons of Gomer …" 10:1-29; cf. 11:27-29; 19:36-38; 25:19-26; 36:1-5, 10-30; 46:8-25). The distinctions of broad, deep, linear, and segmented genealogies help explain the various functions of genealogies."[472]
"Genesis begins the process of identifying the seed that will rule the earth (Gen. 1:26-28) and crush the Serpent (3:15). Book 2 [5:1—6:8] traces that lineage from Adam to Noah, even as the matching ten-generation genealogy of Book 5 [11:10-26] traces it from Shem to Abraham. Book 2 concludes with the progressive and rapid hardening of sin and the inability of the godly seed of the woman on its own to reverse it. Sin, like the Serpent, is too strong for them. Clearly, both God's judgment and deliverance are needed."[473]
1. The effects of the curse on humanity ch. 5
There are at least three purposes for the inclusion of this genealogy, which contains 10 paragraphs (vv. 1-5, 6-8, 9-11, 12-14, 15-17, 18-20, 21-24, 25-27, 28-31, and 32) and covers over 1,500 years of human history.
1. It shows the development of the human race from Adam to Noah, and it bridges the gap in time between these two major individuals. One writer argued that the ages of these patriarchs were inflated to glorify them.[474] I think not, as this would seemingly undermine the trustworthiness of Scripture.
"The genealogies [in chapters 5 and 11] are exclusionist in function, indicating by linear descent the one through whom the promissory blessing will be channeled."[475]
How was it possible for people to live so long at this time in history?
"At the time Adam and Eve were created, they were in an ideal environment for the preservation of human life. The Garden of Eden was ideally suited to maintaining their health and vigor unimpaired. Even after they were expelled from Eden, it would seem that conditions for longevity were still far more favorable than they later became after the Flood; and there may well have been a virtual absence of disease. When these conditions gradually changed for the worse, particularly after the terrible judgment of the Flood, the life expectancy of man became progressively shorter. By Moses' time a lifetime of seventy years was considered normal, and those who lived on to eighty or beyond were generally beset with discomforts and weaknesses of various sorts, until they finally passed off the scene (see Ps. 9:10 …)."[476]
2. This genealogy also demonstrates the truthfulness of God's (spoken) word when He said that people would die as a result of sin (cf. 2:17). Note the recurrence of the phrase "and he died" (vv. 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 27, and 31).
3. This genealogy contrasts the progress of the godly line of Seth, culminating in Enoch (lit. Dedicated One) who walked with God, and experienced "translation" (i.e., instant transformation and transport into heaven, without dying; 5:6-24; cf. 3:8; 6:8), with the development of the ungodly line of Cain. Cain's branch of the human race culminated in Lamech, who was a brutal bigamist (4:16-24).
"The author's return to the theme of God's 'blessing' man (cf. v. 2) is also a part of his overall scheme to cast God's purposes for man in terms that will recall a father's care for his children. Throughout the remainder of the Book of Genesis, a recurring theme is that of the father's blessing his children (9:26-27; 27:27; 48:15; 49:1-28). In keeping with such a theme, the author shows at each crucial turning point in the narrative that God himself renewed his blessing to the next generation of sons (1:28; 5:2; 9:1; 12:3; 24:11). Seen as a whole, the picture that emerges is that of a loving father insuring the future well-being of his children through the provision of an inherited blessing. In this way the author has laid a theological foundation for the rest of Scripture. God's original plan of blessing for all humanity, though thwarted by human folly, will nevertheless be restored through the seed of the woman (3:15), the seed of Abraham (12:3), and the 'Lion of the tribe of Judah' (49:8-12; cf. Rev 5:5-13). It is on this same foundation that the apostle Paul built his view of Jesus as the one through whom God has 'blessed us' (Eph 1:3) and 'adopted us as his sons' (v. 5) so that 'we have obtained an inheritance' (v. 11, KJV) from the one we may call 'Abba, Father' (Rom 8:15)."[477]
Enoch's walking with God (v. 22) may have been the inspiration for this sign that appeared on a church marquee: "Exercise daily. Walk with God."
Some commentators have seen evidence in the text that this genealogy is not complete:[478]
1. The word "father" can just as accurately be translated "ancestor" (v. 3, et al.). It does not require a literal father-son sequence.[479] Likewise "fathered" or "begat" (AV) can mean eventually begat, not necessarily immediately begat.
2. The fact that Lamech, the sixth name in Cain's list (4:16-24), corresponds to Enoch, the sixth name in Seth's list (5:6-24), is suggestive: It indicates that God wanted to point out the contrast between the generations of these two sons of Adam. One was ungodly and the other godly. This purpose seems to some writers to be more dominant than that God wanted simply to preserve a complete record of all the generations between Adam and Noah. Lamech and Enoch were each the seventh generation, as recorded in this list, from Adam (cf. Jude 14). Matthew 1:1 through 17 contains a similar genealogy, in which 14 men from each of three historical periods appear, and it is not complete (cf. Matt. 1:8 with 1 Chron. 3:11-12).[480]
3. The writer did not list Noah's sons in the order of their birth (cf. 5:32 and 9:24).
4. The genealogy in chapter 11 is probably not complete.[481]
But the careful recording of the age of each man, when he fathered the next man in the list, strongly suggests to some that this list is complete.[482] Furthermore, the genealogies in 1 Chronicles 1:1 through 4 and Luke 3:36 through 38 are identical to the one in Genesis 5. This fact is used to support the theory that there are probably no missing generations in chapter 5's genealogy.[483]
"The genealogy of Seth in Genesis 5 is thus intended to take up [continue] the creation story which had reached its first climax in the creation, as we would now read it, of Adam. The elemental orderliness of the genealogy continues the order begun at creation; indeed, it reaffirms that order after the threatened slide back into chaos narrated in the intervening chapters. But the genealogy does more; it imparts movement to creation. The Genesis 1 creation story is essentially static. When God rests on the seventh day, all phyla of creation are in their proper order and the earth is at rest. There is little suggestion of movement or further development, no story to be traced. The sole dynamic elements lie in God's command to newly created humanity to 'be fruitful and multiply' and 'subdue the earth.' The genealogies document the fruitfulness of humanity and thus become the expression of the fulfillment of God's mandate, providing movement away from the steady state of creation but at the same time preserving its orderliness. Creation's order advanced through the genealogy."[484]
"Connection of the genealogy to creation also exerts a reciprocal influence on our understanding of this and subsequent genealogies. The genealogies represent the continuation of creation's fundamental order through time. As a result, they assume theological significance. The organic and orderly succession of generations is not an expression of thematically empty biological necessity but of God's initial creative activity. Birth awakens not neutral destiny but enrollment in the continuing order of creation ordained by God. The genealogies become bearers of the creation theme and, by their elemental, organic nature, its fit expression."[485]
Assuming closed (or "tight") genealogies in chapters 5 and 11, J. Paul Tanner calculated the Creation as having occurred about 4200 B.C., and the Flood about 2550 B.C.[486] Archbishop James Ussher (A.D. 1581-1656) believed that the creation of Adam took place in 4004 B.C.[487] Lloyd Anderson believed that these genealogies are open, and he calculated the date of the Flood at about 4000 B.C.[488] Eusebius, the fourth-century AD church historian, wrote that the time from the origin of man to the death of Moses was "nearly three thousand years."[489]
Even though the death motif (theme) is strong in this chapter, there is even more emphasis on God's grace. We see this in the references to life, fertility (sons and daughters), Enoch's translation, and other blessings. The enjoyment of God's blessings depends on walking with God. "Walk" is a biblical figure for fellowship and obedience that results in divine blessing (cf. 1 Sam. 15:25; Eph. 4:1; 1 John 1:7).
"Enoch is pictured as one who did not suffer the fate of Adam ('you shall surely die') because, unlike the others, he 'walked with God.' The sense of the author is clear. Enoch is an example of one who found life amid the curse of death. In Enoch the author is able to show that the pronouncement of death is not the last word that need be said about a person's life. One can find life if one 'walks with God.'"[490]
"'Walked with God' is metaphorical and indicates that Enoch had a lifestyle characterized by his devotion to God. The sense of 'walk' (halak) in its verbal stem indicates a communion or intimacy with God."[491]
"The double repetition of the phrase 'walked with God' indicates Enoch was outstanding in this pious family."[492]
"Those whose conversation in the world is truly holy shall find their removal out of it truly happy."[493]
Repetition usually reinforces and emphasizes in Scripture. The central lesson of this section of Genesis appears to be that the godly can experience victory over the effects of the curse by walking with God.[494] God will snatch some away of the godly (cf. 1 Cor. 15:51-53; 1 Thess. 4:17), like Enoch, but most have to endure physical death, though not spiritual death.
"The finality of death caused by sin, and so powerfully demonstrated in the genealogy of Genesis, is in fact not so final. Man was not born to die; he was born to live, and that life comes by walking with God. Walking with God is the key to the chains of the curse."[495]
"Within the time-scale of Genesis, this chapter covers the longest period in world history."[496]
As the story of Cain and Abel (4:3-24) interrupted the genealogy of Adam in 4:1 and 2, and 25 and 26, so the story of the Flood (6:1—9:27) interrupts the genealogy of Noah in 5:32, and 9:28 and 29.
2. God's sorrow over man's wickedness 6:1-8
As wickedness increased on the earth God determined to destroy the human race—with the exception of those few people to whom He extended grace.
"Stories of a great flood sent in primeval times by gods to destroy mankind followed by some form of new creation are so common to so many peoples in different parts of the world, between whom no kind of historical contact seems possible, that the notion seems almost to be a universal feature of the human imagination."[497]
There were two major reasons for the flood: the sins of the sons of God (vv. 1-4), and the sins of humankind in general (vv. 5-8).
The sins of the sons of God 6:1-4
6:1-2 There are three major views about the identity of "the sons of God":
1. They were fallen angels (demons) who married women.[498] Arguments in favor of this view follow, with responses:
a. The term "sons of God," as it occurs here in Hebrew, refers only to angels in the Old Testament (Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7; et al.). Response: Angels do not reproduce (Matt. 22:30). Also, "sons of God" is a strange title for evil angels.
b. 2 Peter 2:4 and 5 and Jude 6 and 7 appear to identify angels with this incident. Response: There are no other references to angels in the context here in Genesis. These New Testament passages probably refer to the fall of Satan.
c. If God could impregnate Mary, spirit beings may be able to do the same thing to human women. Response: Spirit beings cannot do everything that God can do.
2. They were godly Sethites who married ungodly women.[499] I prefer this view. Arguments in favor of this view follow, with responses:
a. The Old Testament often refers to the godly as "God's sons" (e.g., Exod. 4:22; Deut. 32:5; Ps. 73:15; 80:17; Hos. 1:10). Response: This would have to be an exception to the use of "sons of God" as a normal reference to angels in the Old Testament.
b. Moses had already established the concept of a godly line and an ungodly line in Genesis (4:16—5:32). Response: This does not mean that godly Sethites are in view here necessarily.
c. Sonship of humans based on election is common in the Old Testament. Response: These "sons of God" could be elect angels who fell.
d. Warnings against marriages between believers and unbelievers are common in the Pentateuch and throughout Scripture, and this seems to be in view here. Response: The warning seems to be against more abnormal forms of intermarriage than just marriage between believers and unbelievers.
3. They were ungodly dynastic rulers who married women.[500] That is, they were upper class men who married lower class women. Fallen angels (demons) may have indwelt, or at least controlled, these men.[501] Arguments in favor of this view, and responses, follow:
a. Ancient Near Eastern literature often called kings "sons of gods" (cf. 2 Sam. 7:14). Response: This is not the usual meaning of "sons of God" in the Old Testament.
b. The Old Testament refers to administrators (e.g., judges) as "gods." Response: Scripture never regards them as descendants or sons of deities, as pagan ancient Near Eastern literature does.
c. This story is similar to Babylonian antediluvian stories. Response: Similarity does not require identical meaning. Nor does it require that the Babylonian explanation gave rise to the biblical explanation. Rather the reverse seems to be true.[502]
Scholars have debated this passage heatedly. One writer expressed his frustration as follows:
"What does he [Moses] mean? I do not know, and I do not believe anyone knows. So far as I am concerned, this passage is unintelligible."[503]
Context is very important in any interpretive problem, and I believe it argues for view 2 in this case.[504] If so, the purpose of this segment of the text appears to be to document the degradation of even the godly, thus justifying the Flood. Evidently the godly were selecting their wives on the basis of who looked best to them, believers and unbelievers alike, rather than choosing godly wives. In other words, the godly had adopted the values of the world and were behaving like unbelievers. This breakdown of godliness existed in the realm of the most fundamental human institution: marriage (cf. Matt. 24:37-38; Luke 17:26-27).
Some people who believe that the angelic conflict (the conflict between good and bad spirit beings) is a major theme of Scripture have emphasized this passage. I do not believe that the angelic conflict is a major theme of Scripture. I believe the angels are important primarily because of their function as God's messengers sent forth to minister to (help) people (Heb. 1:14).
6:3 The "120 years" are evidently the number of years of grace that God decided to give humankind to repent before the Flood.[505] They probably do not indicate a reduction in the normal human lifespan to 120 years, though people who lived before the Flood lived longer than those who lived after it.[506]
"The judgment is that God will not endlessly and forever permit his life-giving spirit to enliven those who disorder his world. The breath of life (Gen. 2:7; Ps. 104:29-30) remains his to give and to recall."[507]
"The attempt by man to become more than he is results in his becoming less."[508]
6:4 The "Nephilim" were on the earth both before and after the marriages of the sons of God with the daughters of mankind. They were literally "fallen ones" or "tyrants." They have been described as mighty men who were of old, men of renown. That is, they were powerful individuals. The men that Moses sent to spy out the land later described the "people of great stature" in Canaan as Nephilim. But this was not just because of their height but also because of their powerful appearance (cf. Num.13:31-33).
"The translation 'giants' (A.V.) is most unfortunate. It originated with the Septuagint (gigantes). It does not follow from Num. 13:33, even if there the 'attackers' should also happen to have been giants."[509]
The sins of humanity generally 6:5-8
The second reason for the Flood, beside the sins of the "sons of God," was the sinfulness of humanity generally.
6:5 Men's and women's actions were very wicked, and their thoughts and affections ("every intent of the thoughts of their hearts," their mind-set, attitudes, and motives) were completely ("continually") "evil" by this time (cf. vv. 11-12; Rom. 1:18-32).
"Near the turn of the 19th century F. W. Farrar wrote a book entitled Seekers After God. The book was a popular seller and was in considerable demand. A certain western bookseller had a number of requests for the volume but had no copies available. He sent a telegram to the dealers in New York requesting them to ship him a number of the books. After awhile [sic] a telegram came back which read, 'No seekers after God in New York. Try Philadelphia.'"[510]
6:6 God was "sorry" that He had made humankind, because people generally did not want a relationship with Him. They insisted on living life independently of God, and consequently they were destroying themselves in sin. God experienced "heart-piercing sorrow"[511] over what His special creation had become. This is an anthropopathism: Moses was describing the LORD as having human emotions (cf. 9:15, 16).
"God is no robot. We know him as a personal, living God, not a static principle, who while having transcendent purposes to be sure also engages intimately with his creation. Our God is incomparably affected by, even pained by, the sinner's rebellion. Acknowledging the passibility (emotions) of God does not diminish the immutability [unchangeableness] of his promissory purposes. Rather, his feelings and actions toward men, such as judgment or forgiveness, are always inherently consistent with his essential person and just and gracious resolve (Jas 1:17)."[512]
"God repented that he had made man; but we never find him repenting that he redeemed man."[513]
6:7 This verse is another important early promise and prophecy. God proceeded to fulfill it literally. His destruction of all the animals in the Flood was not because they were sinful. It was an inevitable consequence of His judgment on all humankind.
6:8 Noah was the one exception to the universal godlessness. The name "Noah" may mean "grieved" (the Hebrew niphal form) or "rest" or "comfort" (the piel form). "Favor" equals grace. This is the first occurrence of the Hebrew word translated "grace" or "favor" in the Old Testament, though we have seen many examples of God's grace thus far. There is a wordplay in the Hebrew text (an anagram). The same consonants of Noah's name (nh) in the reverse order mean "grace" (hn).
All of God's people can identify with Noah: they have all been recipients of God's grace. It is only by God's grace that we can escape His judgment on the wicked.
"Genesis is flatly contradicting the humanistic optimism of Mesopotamia: humanity's situation in its [Genesis's] view is hopeless without divine mercy."[514]
This section, together with the next, shows that pagan idolatry and immorality pain God and incur His judgment, and that man can only escape by His provision of salvation.
D. What became of Noah 6:9—9:29
The LORD destroyed the corrupt, violent human race, and He deluged its world. But He also used righteous Noah to preserve life and to establish a new world after the Flood.
"Noah's experience presents decisively the author's assertion that the Lord judges human sin but provides a means for perpetuating the creation blessing (1:26-28) and the salvation hope for an elect seed (3:15). The recurring theme of blessing, threatened by sin but preserved by divine mercy, is found in the two narratives that make up the Noah toledot: the flood story (6:9—9:17) and the account of the patriarch's drunkenness (9:20-27). The former is worldwide in scope, and the latter is its microcosm. A genealogical note binds the two (9:18-19), and another concludes it (9:28-29)."[515]
"Also Noah's toledot contributes to the broader concerns of early Genesis by preparing the reader for the postdiluvian world. This 'new world' is the setting for understanding the perpetuation of the 'blessing' by the patriarchs (11:27—50:26), which is the main deliberation of Genesis."[516]
Noah is a very important person in biblical history. In addition to 34 occurrences of his name in Genesis, there are 13 more in 8 other books of the Bible (1 Chron. 1:4; Isa. 54:9 [twice]; Ezek. 14:14, 20; Matt. 24:37, 38; Luke 3:36; 17:26, 27; Heb. 11:7; 1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 2:5).
1. The Flood 6:9—8:22
The chiastic (palistrophic, crossing) structure of this section shows that Moses intended to emphasize God's grace to Noah, which occupies the central part of the story.
"One mark of the coherence of the flood narrative is to be found in its literary structure. The tale is cast in the form of an extended palistrophe, that is a structure that turns back on itself. In a palistrophe the first item matches the final item, the second item matches the penultimate [next to last] item, and so on. The second half of the story is thus a mirror image of the first. This kind of literary structure has been discovered in other parts of Genesis, but nowhere else is it developed on such a large scale. This may be partly due to the fact that a flood narrative is peculiarly suited to this literary form."[517]
"Particularly striking are the references to days (lines H, I, L, O). (Only the references to days form part of the palistrophe; the 40 days and nights [vii 4, 12] and the dates do not.) The periods of time form a symmetrical pattern, 7, 7, 40, 150, 150, 40, 7, 7. The turning point of the narrative is found in viii:1 'God remembered Noah.'"[518]
"What then is the function of the palistrophe? Firstly, it gives literary expression to the character of the flood event. The rise and fall of the waters is mirrored in the rise and fall of the key words in its description. Secondly, it draws attention to the real turning point in the saga: viii 1, 'And God remembered Noah.' From that moment the waters start to decline and the earth to dry out. It was God's intervention that was decisive in saving Noah, and the literary structure highlights this fact."[519]
The following diagram illustrates this palistrophe (chiasm) more simply:[520]
Introduction: Noah's righteousness and Noah's sons (6:9-10).
A God resolves to destroy the corrupt race (6:11-13).
B Noah builds an ark according to God's instructions (6:14-22).
C The LORD commands the remnant to enter the ark (7:1-9).
D The flood begins (7:10-16).
E The flood prevails 150 days and the water covers the mountains (7:17-24).
F God remembers Noah (8:1a).
E' The flood recedes 150 days and the mountains are visible (8:1b-5).
D' The earth dries (8:6-14).
C' God commands the remnant to leave the ark (8:15-19).
B' Noah builds an altar (8:20).
A' The LORD resolves not to destroy humankind (8:21-22).
Conditions and events before the Flood 6:9—7:9
6:9-10 This is the first time the important words translated "righteous" and "blameless" appear in the Bible.
"The same explanation for Enoch's rescue from death ('he walked with God') is made the basis for Noah's rescue from death in the Flood: 'he walked with God' (6:9). Thus in the story of Noah and the Flood, the author is able to repeat the lesson of Enoch: life comes through 'walking with God.'"[521]
"Most people know that Noah built an ark. What they may not know is that he also built a godly character and a godly family."[522]
"Noah is depicted as Adam redivivus (revived). He is the sole survivor and successor to Adam; both 'walk' with God; both are the recipients of the promissory blessing; both are caretakers of the lower creatures; both father three sons; both are workers of the soil; both sin through the fruit of a tree; and both father a wicked son who is under a curse."[523]
6:11-12 Notice again that "the earth" (i.e., the atmosphere, dry land, bodies of water, all plant and animal life) had to suffer because of human sin (cf. 3:17-19; 4:12; Rom. 8:20-21).
"The two words, 'corrupt' and 'violence,' give us respectively the character and expression of the sin, the cause and the effect. The corruption has led to violence, for badness always leads to cruelty in one form or another. A life that is wrong with God necessarily becomes wrong with its fellows."[524]
We already had an illustration of this corruption in verse 2. God had created the earth and pronounced it "good" (1:31). But now it was "corrupt" and "filled with violence" (vv. 11-13).
6:13 "Whereas God has blessed the human family with the power of procreation to fill the earth (1:28; 9:1), these culprits have 'filled the earth' by procreating 'violence' (cf. v. 13; Ezek 8:17; 28:16)."[525]
"There come times in the events of this world when God's gracious dealings with men are definitely terminated. Such times come only when grace has been offered in richest measure. But when the end is resolved upon, there is no recall. Such a case is marked by the 'end' that God here determines."[526]
6:14-16 Noah received detailed instructions that he was to follow in building the ark. Much later Moses received detailed instructions that he was to follow in building the tabernacle. Both men followed their respective instructions and received praise (v. 22; Exod. 39:42-43; Lev. 8:36; Num. 27:22; Deut. 34:9). Both men inaugurated a new epoch. In this respect, Moses was another Noah.
"God must be obeyed in all his instructions if his people expect to enjoy the fruit of life and blessing (e.g., Deut 26:16-19; 28:1-14)."[527]
The ark was about 450 feet long (1 1/2 American football fields), 75 feet wide (7 standard parking spaces), and 45 feet high (a typical four-story building). It had three decks and over 100,000 square feet of deck space. There were over 1 million cubic feet of space in it. This is a volume capacity of approximately 860 railroad boxcars. It had a floating capacity (its buoyancy, the total weight that it could float) of almost 14,000 gross tons.[528]
The ark probably looked more like a rectangular box than a typical ship. After all, its purpose was to stay afloat, not transport its contents from one destination to another. This design used space very efficiently. The ark would have been very stable in the water. Modern ocean-going tankers and aircraft carriers have a similar scale of dimensions. The type of wood ("gopher," v. 14) out of which Noah made the ark is unknown. The Hebrew word occurs only here in the Old Testament and is transliterated "gopher" into English.
6:17 God made two promises to Noah. First, He would bring a flood of water upon the earth that would destroy all animal and human life ("in which there is the breath of life." "Everything" that was "on the earth" would "perish." This certainly sound like the Flood would be universal rather than local.
6:18a Second, God promised to establish a covenant with Noah. This is the first occurrence of the important word "covenant" (Heb. berith) in the Old Testament (v. 18). The making of and the details of this covenant follow in 9:9 through 17. There were two basic kinds of covenants in the ancient Near East.[529]
1. The parity covenant was one that equals (peers) made, for example: Abraham and Abimelech (21:22-32), Isaac and Abimelech (26:26-33), and Jacob and Laban (31:44-54).
2. The suzerainty covenant was one that a superior (e.g., a king) made with an inferior (e.g., a vassal, subject). Examples of this type of covenant are the Noahic Covenant (Gen. 9:1-17), the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen. 15:18-21), and the Mosaic Covenant (Exod. 19—Num. 10).
"The Noahic covenant is closer to the royal grant known from the ancient Near East where a deity bestows a benefit or gift upon a king. It has its closest parallels to the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants (Gen 15; 17; 2 Sam 7), which are promissory charters made by God with the individuals and their offspring, characteristically forever. Unlike the Mosaic covenant, in the royal grant form of covenant God alone is under compulsion by oath to uphold his promise to the favored party."[530]
6:18b-20 Noah and his wife plus his sons and their wives—eight individuals in all—were to enter the ark. Noah was also to bring into the ark two of every "kind" of animal ("every living thing of all flesh"), a male and a female of each kind (cf. 1:21, 24-25) to keep them alive. Even birds and small crawling creatures were to be included.
6:21 Noah was also to stock the ark with food for his family and the animals.
"The problem of providing food for so many creatures for somewhat more than a year is simplified by the very proper consideration that beasts are very shrewd about adapting their food supply to their needs. When they have no physical exercise, like brooding hens, they cut down promptly on the amount of food consumed. Likewise during the time of hibernating. A kind of winter sleep may providentially have taken possession of all inmates of the ark, materially cutting down their needs and reducing them to a very small minimum."[531]
6:22 We can see Noah's faith (Heb. 11:7) in his complete obedience to God ("Noah did these things; according to everything that God had commanded him"; cf. 7:5, 9, 16; 8:16-18)—even though he faced many obstacles. In his obedience to God he was similar to Abraham (cf. 12:4; 22:3).
"The author's purpose in drawing out the list of specifications for the ark in chapter 6, as with the details of the building of the tabernacle, is not that readers might be able to see what the ark or the tabernacle looked like, but rather that readers might appreciate the meticulous care with which these godly and exemplary individuals went about their tasks of obedience to God's will. They obeyed God with 'all their hearts.'"[532]
"What a splendid figure this man makes, a picture of solitary goodness! He was the one saint of that day. It is possible, therefore, to be good even though we have to stand alone. It is possible to be right with God even amidst surrounding iniquity. God is the same today as He was to Noah, and if only we are willing to fulfill the conditions we too shall walk with God and please Him."[533]
"God here makes Noah a great blessing to the world, and herein makes him an eminent type of the Messiah. 1. God made him a preacher to the men of that generation. 2. God made him a saviour to the inferior creatures, to keep the several kinds of them from perishing and being lost in the deluge, v. 19-21. (1) He was to provide shelter for them, that they might not be drowned. (2) He was to provide sustenance for them, that they might not be starved, v. 21. Herein also he was a type of Christ, to whom it is owing that the world stands, by whom all things consist, and who preserves mankind from being totally cut off and ruined by sin. Noah saved those whom he was to rule, so does Christ, Heb. v. 9."[534]
"A type is a divinely purposed anticipation which illustrates its antitype [something that is represented by the type]."[535]
7:1 God, in His grace, invited Noah to enter the ark with his family (v. 1; cf. 8:15). God took the initiative, as He later did in calling Abram (cf. 12:1). This is the first occurrence of the offer "Come" (v. 1, NET2, AV, NKJV) in the Bible.[536] This invitation continues throughout Scripture, the last offer being in Revelation 22:17. God extends the invitation to people, He urges them to take advantage of the perfect provision He has made for their preservation, and He offers it in a time of impending judgment and gloom.
"It is not that Noah's works of righteousness gains [sic gain] him salvation, for none is cited. Rather, his upright character is noted to condemn his generation, which merits death."[537]
"Sinful men do not deserve to live on God's earth. This is the basic message of the Genesis Flood."[538]
7:2-3 God did not reveal the basis for His distinction between "clean" and "not clean" animals here. Israel's pagan neighbors also observed clean and unclean distinctions between animals, though these distinctions varied from country to country. In the Mosaic Law, God further distinguished between acceptable and unacceptable foods—for the Israelites. Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul taught that now, in the Church Age, these distinctions no longer need affect people as far as our relationship with God goes (Mark 7:15, 18-19; cf. Acts 10:15; 11:9; Rom. 14:14).
7:4 Gad gave the instructions in this section of the Flood narrative (7:1-4) seven days before the rain began (cf. v. 10).
"According to the scriptural use of numbers forty regularly describes a period of trial terminating in the victory of good and the overthrow of evil; see Num. 14:33; Exod. 24:18; I Kings 19:8; Jonah 3:4; Matt. 4:2; Acts 1:3."[539]
7:5 Again Moses drew attention to Noah's complete obedience to what God had told him to do (cf. v. 22). Obviously this was a point that Moses wanted his readers to be sure to get.
7:6-9 How did God cause all the animals to come to the ark (vv. 8-9)? Perhaps all varieties of animals were in the immediate neighborhood of the ark, or perhaps they came from far away while the ark was being built. Moses did not explain this.
"… there is absolutely no way of telling [from the Bible] how the various continents were formed and shaped in days of old and whether they were more intimately connected with one another prior to the Flood and immediately thereafter."[540]
The Flood proper 7:10-24
There are two views among evangelicals as to the extent of the Flood:
1. The flood was universal, in that it covered the entire earth. Here is a summary of the evidence that supports this view:[541]
a. The purpose of the Flood (6:5-7, 11-13).
b. The need for an ark (6:14).
c. The size of the ark (6:15-16).
d. The universal terms used in the story (6:17-21; 7:19, 21-23). Context must determine whether universal terms are truly universal or limited (see Luke 2:1 and Matt. 28:19-20 for examples of universal terms that are limited).
e. The amount of water involved (7:11, 20; 8:2).
f. The duration of the Flood: 371 days (7:11; 8:14).
g. The testimony of the psalmist (Ps. 104:5-9).
h. The testimony of Peter (2 Pet. 3:3-7).
i. The faithfulness of God (8:21).
This view has been the most popular with conservative interpreters throughout history.
"By and large, the tradition of the Christian church is that the context requires a universal flood, and many Christian scholars have maintained this position knowing well the geological difficulties it raises."[542]
"Water seeks its own level, so if 'all the high mountains' were covered (7:19), the whole earth was under water to that extent. Moreover, the insistence on the use of 'all' ('all mountains,' 7:19; 'all flesh,' 7:21; 'all in whose nostrils,' 7:22); 'all that was on the dry land,' 7:22); and so forth) can lead to no other view than a universal deluge, modern scientific opinion notwithstanding."[543]
"The language is not consistent with the theory of a partial deluge."[544]
"On the one hand the distribution of the saga (among Indians, Persians, Africans, Melanesians, and Australians, among the Eskimos, the Kamchatkans, Indians of the Americas, etc.), on the other hand its remarkable uniformity (flood caused by rain), require the assumption of an actual cosmic experience and a primitive recollection which, to be sure, is often clouded and in part often brought to new life and revised only later by local floods."[545]
2. The flood was local, and covered only part of the earth.[546] It was, in the words of J. Vernon McGee, "sort of a big swimming pool."[547] (McGee believed in a universal flood.[548]) The evidence is as follows:
a. The main arguments rest on modern geology and the improbability of a universal flood in view of consequential global changes.
b. Advocates take the universal statements in the text as limited to the area where Moses said the Flood took place.
c. Some advocates believe that Moses described the Flood as an observer would have seen these events. An observer would have seen no mountains that were not covered with water.[549]
This view has gained wide acceptance ever since the modern science of geology has called into question the believability of the text.[550]
"The principle concern of those advocating a local flood is to escape the geological implications of a universal flood."[551]
"Since the distorted concept of special creation used by the originator of the geologic column was never truly Creationistic, and organic evolution has long since become the conceptual basis for time-equivalence of index fossils, modern Creationists can justifiably point out that organic evolution is the basis for the geological column."[552]
Basically this controversy, like that involving the Creation account, involves presuppositions about the credibility of Scripture or science, and the possibility of supernatural occurrences. The scientific community seems to be more open to catastrophism of some kind than it used to be.[553]
"We believe that most of the difficulties associated with the Biblical record of the Flood are basically religious, rather than scientific. The concept of such a universal judgment on man's sin and rebellion, warning as it does of another greater judgment yet to come, is profoundly offensive to the intellectual and moral pride of modern man and so he would circumvent it if at all possible."[554]
The non-biblical stories of the Flood are undoubtedly perversions of the true account that God preserved in Scripture.[555] God may have revealed the true account directly to Moses, or He may have preserved a true oral or written account that Moses used as his source of this information. Moses may have written the Genesis account, under divine inspiration, to correct the Mesopotamian versions (the maximalist view), or both the biblical and Mesopotamian accounts may go back to a common tradition (the minimalist view).[556]
Some interpreters have understood the opening of the "floodgates of the sky" (v. 11) as a breaking up of a water vapor canopy that, some theorize, covered the earth before the Flood. Advocates of this "canopy theory" believe that it may account for longevity before the Flood.[557] Other less probable explanations of the longevity of the antediluvians are (1) that "years" really means "lunar months," or (2) that the "years" refer not to the age of individuals but to the age of a family, tribe, or dynasty.[558]
"The water for Noah's Flood came from the release of great underground sources of water (the fountains of the great deep which continued pouring forth for 150 days), and from the collapse of the waters above (presumably a vast water vapor blanket or canopy above the atmosphere), giving the 40 days and nights of rain. Psalm 104 indicates that after the Flood, the mountains were upthrust to their present positions, with associated deepening of the ocean basins, which now hold the waters of the Flood."[559]
"These waters would not have been enough to cover today's highest mountains. Genesis indicates no rain or rainbows before the Flood, which is consistent with the absence of high mountains that are important to the triggering of rainfall. Also, the absence of large temperature differences between poles and equator under such a greenhouse blanket of water vapor would mean an absence of the vast winds which are also necessary (now, but not before the Flood) for the rainfall cycle. Genesis describes how the earth before the Flood was watered by mists and/or springs and geysers."[560]
A diagonal strip of marine limestone, which is the remains of the ancient Tethys Sea, that mountain climbers refer to as the Yellow Band, is located beneath Mt. Everest's just over 29,000-foot summit, between about 25,000 and 27,000 feet. This is evidence that water did indeed cover "all the high mountains everywhere" (v. 19). However, Mt. Everest may not have been as high before the Flood as it is now. Another less likely possibility, I think, is that the few mountains that are higher than Mt. Ararat, the present altitude of which is just under 17,000 feet, were unknown in Noah's day and in Moses' day (cf. v. 19).[561] The Flood may have, and probably did, create major changes in the topography of the entire earth.
"… the effects caused by the waters of the great deep (1:2), as they surged about on the earth in process of formation, together with the effects brought about by this great Flood, seem to us an entirely adequate explanation for geological formations of every kind, as they are now to be observed."[562]
"We have shown earlier that the flood narrative points ahead to Moses and the escape of the Hebrews through the Red Sea. This is evidenced again by the term 'dry land' (haraba) in our passage (v. 22) rather than the customary 'dry ground' (yabasa). This infrequent term occurs eight times, only once more in the Pentateuch at Exod 14:21, where it describes the transformation of the sea into 'dry land' by a 'strong east wind.' This exodus parallel is confirmed by 8:1b, which speaks of God's sending a 'wind' upon the waters. Later Israel identified itself with Noah and the tiny group of survivors who escaped the wicked by the awesome deeds of God."[563]
The Lord Jesus affirmed the historicity of "the days of Noah" when He likened them to the end days (Matt. 24:37; Luke 17:26, 27). Peter also used the story of Noah as an illustration of what will happen in the end days (1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 2:5; 3:5, 6).
My wife and I took a tour of the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center near Glen Rose, Texas. We discovered early in our tour that our guide was a Christian, and she discovered that we were Christians. At one point in the tour, she explained that the geological formations nearby were the result of millions of years of evolution. She then, surprisingly, turned off the motor of the jeep in which we were riding, and confessed that she didn't really believe what she had just told us. She asked us what we believed. I told her that I believe that the fossil record, and geological stratification, harmonize with the Bible if one believes two things: (1) that God created things with the appearance of age, and (2) that God sent a universal flood that covered the whole earth.
The aftermath of the Flood ch. 8
8:1-3 When Moses wrote that "God remembered" someone (v. 1), in this case Noah, he meant that God extended mercy to him or her by delivering that person from death or destruction (here; cf. 19:29) or from barrenness (30:22).[564] God's rescue of Noah foreshadows His deliverance of Israel in the Exodus (cf. 8:13-14 and Exod. 2:24; 14:21).[565]
8:4-5 "'Ararat,' known as ancient Urartu in Assyrian records, was an extensive territory and bordered the northern Mesopotamian region. It reached its political zenith in the ninth to sixth centuries B.C. Urartu surrounded Lake Van with boundaries taking in southeast Turkey, southern Russia, and northwest Iran. Among the mountains of modern Armenia is the impressive peak known today as Mount Ararat, some seventeen thousand feet in elevation, which the Turks call Byk Ari Da. 'Mount Ararat' as a geographical designation comes from later tradition. During the eleventh to twelfth centuries A.D., it became the traditional site known as the place of Noah's landing. Verse 4, however, does not specify a peak and refers generally to its location as the 'mountains of Ararat.' The search for the ark's artifacts has been both a medieval and a modern occupation; but to the skeptic such evidence is not convincing, and to the believer, while not irrelevant, it is not necessary to faith."[566]
Modern Mt. Ararat lies on the border between Turkey and Armenia, near the center of the ancient world. From this general region Noah's descendants spread out over the earth.[567]
8:6-9 "The raven in seeking food settles upon every carcass it sees, whereas the dove will only settle on what is dry and clean."[568]
The dove (v. 8), which is a light-colored, clean animal (Lev. 1:14; 12:6; et al.), in contrast to dark-colored, unclean animals (Lev. 11:15; Deut. 14:14), returns to its home when it finds no place to land.
8:10-14 "The olive tree will put out leaves even under water."[569]
8:15-17 There are many interesting thematic parallels between God calling Noah out of the ark, and God later calling Abraham out of Ur (cf. 8:15 and 12:1; 8:16 and 12:1; 8:18 and 12:4; 8:20 and 12:7; 9:1 and 12:2; 9:9 and 12:7).
"Both Noah and Abraham represent new beginnings in the course of events recorded in Genesis. Both are marked by God's promise of blessing and his gift of the covenant."[570]
8:18-19 These verses may seem like needless repetition to the modern reader, but they underline Noah's obedience to God's words, which Moses stressed in the entire Flood narrative.
8:20-21 Noah's "altar" is the first altar mentioned in the Bible. His "burnt offerings" were for worship. Some of the burnt offerings in the Mosaic cultus (system of worship) were for the same purpose. Specifically, a burnt offering made atonement and expressed the offerer's complete personal devotion to God (cf. Lev. 1; Rom. 12:1-2). As the head of the new humanity, Noah, with his sacrifice, represented all humankind.
"To sacrifice seems as 'natural' to man as to pray; the one indicates what he feels about himself, the other what he feels about God. The one means a felt need of propitiation [a felt need to satisfy God]; the other a felt sense of dependence."[571]
8:22 God's promise in this verse guarantees a certain degree of reliability in earth's climate system.
"There are good theological and scientific reasons to think Earth's climate is stable and global warming alarmism is unwarranted. Climate alarmism is distracting people—both Christians and non-Christians—from much weightier issues."[572]
"Biblical religion explained that the seasonal cycle was the consequence of Yahweh's pronouncement and, moreover, evidence of a divine dominion that transcends the elements of the earth. There is no place for Mother-earth in biblical ideology. Earth owes its powers (not her powers!) to the divine command."[573]
God will again judge the wicked catastrophically, and begin a new era of existence with faithful believers: at the Second Coming of Christ and the following Millennium.
2. The Noahic Covenant 9:1-17
Following the Flood, God established human life anew on the earth, showing His high regard for it. He promised to bless humanity with faithfulness, and He prohibited murder. He also promised—with a sign (the rainbow)—that He would not destroy His creation again "by the waters of a flood" (v. 11).
"The Noahic covenant's common allusions to 1:1—2:3 show that Noah is the second Adam who heads the new family of humanity, indicating that the blessing continues through the progeny of the Sethite line. Also 8:20—9:17 possesses lexical and thematic connections with the ratification of the Sinai covenant by Moses and the elders (Exod 24:4-18)."[574]
9:1-3 At this new beginning of the human family God again commanded Noah and his sons to "fill the earth" with their descendants (v. 1; cf. 1:28; 9:7).[575] As with Adam, He also gave them dominion over the animals and permission to eat any animal or "moving thing" (v. 3) for food, with only one prohibition: the animal's blood (cf. 1:26, 28-29; 2:16-17). The phrases "The fear of you" and "the terror of you" express the same idea (v. 2). Evidently at this point animals began to have a greater fear of human beings than they had previously (cf. 1:28). The exceeding sinfulness of mankind that resulted in the Flood did not wipe out God's original commands regarding human reproduction and dominion.
God gave Noah permission to eat animals (v. 3). Until now evidently people had eaten only plants (cf. 1:29). Now humanity received the power of life and death over the animal kingdom ("I have given everything to you").
"God did not expressly prohibit the eating of meat in the initial stipulation at creation, but by inference 9:3's provision for flesh is used as a dividing mark between the antediluvian and postdiluvian periods. Whether or not early man could eat meat by permission from the beginning, now it is stated formally in the Noahic covenant."[576]
Until the Mosaic Law, God made no distinction between clean and unclean animals with regard to human consumption. Under the Mosaic Law, the Israelites could not eat certain foods. Under the Law of Christ (Gal. 6:2), we may again eat any foods (Rom. 14:14; 1 Tim. 4:3). These changes illustrate the fact that God has changed some of the rules, for human conduct at various strategic times in history. These changes are significant features that help us identify the various dispensations (economies) by which God has ruled historically.[577]
9:4 God did, however, prohibit the eating of animal "blood" in order to instill respect for the sacredness of life, since blood is a symbol of life, and it is the life-giving fluid (cf. Lev. 3:17; 7:2-27; 19:26; Deut. 12:1-24; 1 Sam. 14:32-34; Acts 15:20, 29).
"The implication [of New Testament references to eating blood] seems very clear that we are still to respect the sanctify of the blood, since God has appointed it to be a symbol of the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. Therefore it is not to be consumed by any believer who wishes to be obedient to Scripture."[578]
During my years of seminary teaching I had the privilege of ministering to many students from Africa. Some of them asked me about this prohibition against eating blood, because in their tribal cultures eating solidified blood was practiced. Since Jesus declared all foods clean (Mark 7:19), and Paul taught that all foods are acceptable for the Christian (Rom. 14:20; 1 Cor. 8:8; cf. Acts 10:13), I told them that I thought eating blood was all right, unless it was part of a pagan ceremony. In that case participation would probably imply approval of the paganism (cf. 1 Cor. 10:14-33).
God not only reasserted the cultural mandate to reproduce, and subdue the earth, and modified the food law, but He also reasserted the sanctity of human life (cf. ch. 4).
9:5-7 The reason for capital punishment for murder (v. 6) is that God made man in His own image. This is one reason, therefore, that murder is so serious. A person extinguishes a revelation of God—which God takes very personally (cf. Abel's blood "crying out to Me [God] from the ground," 4:10)—when he or she murders someone.[579] Years later the writing prophets announced that God would judge certain foreign nations because they shed human blood without divine authorization (e.g., Amos 1:3, 11, 13; 2:1). God has never countermanded this command, so it is still in force. Before the Flood, the lack of capital punishment led to bloody vendettas (cf. 4:23-24).
The Mosaic Law prescribed the death penalty for several other crimes, in addition to murder (Exod. 21:12; Num. 35:16-31): working on the sabbath (Exod. 35:2), cursing father or mother (Lev. 20:9), adultery (Lev. 20:10), incest (Lev. 20:11-12), sodomy (Lev. 20:13, 15-16), false prophesying (Deut. 13:1-10), Idolatry (Deut. 17:2-7), incorrigible juvenile delinquency (Deut. 21:18-21), rape (Deut. 22:25), keeping an ox that had killed a human being (Exod. 21:29), kidnapping (Exod. 21:16), and intrusion of an alien into a sacred place or office (Num. 1:51; 3:10, 38; 17:7). These punishments ended with the end of the Mosaic Law, but the punishment for murder continued, since it antedated the Mosaic Law.[580]
"This command laid the foundation for all civil government."[581]
"The human government and the governors that existed previously—as in the city which Cain established (4:17), or in the case of the mighty men (6:4)—existed solely on human authority. Now, however, divine authority was conferred on human government to exercise oversight over those who lived under its jurisdiction."[582]
"I sometimes feel that often the hue and cry against capital punishment today does not so much rest upon humanitarian interest or even an interest in justice, but rather in a failure to understand that man is unique. The simple fact is that Genesis 9:6 is a sociological statement: The reason that the punishment for murder can be so severe is that man, being created in the image of God, has a particular value—not just a theoretical value at some time before the Fall, but such a value yet today."[583]
"… the establishment of the divine sovereign right over human life is expressed apodictically [beyond dispute] and unconditionally. It is absolutely inviolable and, moreover, not for man's sake because of some law of humanity, or 'reverence for life,' but because man is God's possession and was created in God's image."[584]
Often, today, people who believe in capital punishment argue for it on the basis of passages that commanded the Israelites to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, etc. (Exod. 21:23-25; Lev. 24:19-20; Deut. 19:21; cf. Num. 35:33). However that was Mosaic legislation, and Christ ended the Law when He died on the cross (cf. Rom. 10:4; et al.). A better basis for capital punishment is this Noahic legislation.
"… capital punishment is divinely ordained. For the proper safeguarding of the human race this basic ordinance is laid down. When lawgivers attempt to tamper with this regulation, they are trying to be wiser than the Divine Lawgiver and overthrow the pillars of safety that He Himself provided for the welfare of mankind."[585]
Sometimes those who argue against capital punishment, today, appeal to Jesus' statement in the Sermon on the Mount: "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I say to you, do not show opposition against an evil person" (Matt. 5:38-39). Jesus was not cancelling God's command to execute murderers when He said this, but was teaching self-restraint and non-retaliation in interpersonal conflicts, as is clear from the context.
Others sometimes appeal to Jesus' words to the woman taken in adultery: "I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on do not sin any longer" (John 8:11). They believe that Jesus was refusing to recommend the death penalty for a person who had committed a capital offense under Israel's law, because He disapproved of capital punishment. Besides the fact that the inspiration of this passage is highly disputed, Jesus, as the Judge of all mankind, had every right to waive or postpone this woman's judgment.
Jesus, on the other hand also said, in the Sermon on the Mount, "For in the way you judge [deal with people], you will be judged [dealt with], and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you" (Matt. 7:2). And, "all those who take up the sword will perish by the sword" (Matt. 26:52).
The Apostle Paul also taught Christians to submit to the government: that "bear[s] the sword" and is "an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil" (Rom. 13:4). These statements affirm judgment "in kind" for offenders.
The fact that there have been and still are injustices in a legal system does not justify doing away with capital punishment. Rather, the system needs to be corrected so that innocent people are not put to death and guilty people are.[586]
These verses introduces the third dispensation, the dispensation of Human Government. When Noah and his family stepped out of the ark to begin life on earth anew, God laid down new rules for humanity, including a new test. Previously no one had the right to take another human life (cf. 4:10-11, 14-15, 23-24). Now, though man's direct moral responsibility to God continued, God delegated to man certain areas of His authority, including capital punishment (the death penalty for a crime). Man was now to express his obedience to God, not only by obeying God directly, but also by obeying the human authorities that God would set over him, namely, human governors (cf. Matt. 22:21; Rom. 13:1-2).
God now specified that human beings were to practice capital punishment in order to safeguard the sanctity of human life. Human life is a gift from God that people should not dispose of except as God directs. Restraint on man in the preceding dispensation was internal (6:3), God's Spirit working through individual moral responsibility. But now a new external restraint was added: the influence and power of civil government. According to this legislation the most important function of human government is the protection of human life.
Unfortunately mankind failed to rule his fellow man righteously. Civil leaders have abused their function as God's viceregents, by ruling for themselves rather than for God. Examples are the failures at Babel (11:9), in Israel's theocracy (2 Chron. 36:15-21), and in "the times of the Gentiles" (Dan. 2:31-45). The glorious reign of Jesus Christ over the earth will supersede man's rule, eventually. The dispensation of Human Government ended, as a specific test of human obedience, when God called Abraham to be His instrument of blessing to the whole world (12:2). Nevertheless mankind's responsibility to govern himself did not end then, but will continue until Christ sets up His kingdom on the earth. Then He will govern.
9:8-11 The Noahic Covenant was a suzerainty treaty that God made with humankind through Noah.[587] In it He promised to "never again" destroy all flesh with "the waters of a flood" (v. 11).
"A peculiar difficulty arises in v. 10 for those who hold that the Flood was partial and not universal. They must support the strange supposition that God made a covenant with those creatures only which went forth from the ark. Others that never entered the ark must do without the benefits of such a covenant."[588]
9:12-17 The sign that God appointed to remind people of this promise, and to guarantee its veracity, was the rainbow (v. 12-15; cf. 6:12). There may have been rainbows before this pronouncement, but now God attached significance to the rainbow.
"It is not impossible that with the Flood came altered atmospheric and cloud conditions, for geologic evidence points to an earlier age when a climate uniformly tropical prevailed also in the artic region."[589]
In later years God gave other signs in connection with other covenants: physical circumcision with the Abrahamic Covenant, Sabbath observance with the Mosaic Covenant, and the Lord's Supper with the New Covenant.
"Shining upon a dark ground … it [the rainbow] represents the victory of the light of love over the fiery darkness of wrath. Originating from the effect of the sun upon a dark cloud, it typifies the willingness of the heavenly to penetrate the earthly. Stretched between heaven and earth, it is as a bond of peace between both, and, spanning the horizon, it points to the all-embracing universality of the Divine mercy."[590]
"The rainbow arcs like a battle bow hung against the clouds. (The Hebrew word for rainbow, qeset, is also the word for a battle bow.) … The bow is now 'put away,' hung in place by the clouds, suggesting that the 'battle,' the storm, is over. Thus the rainbow speaks of peace."[591]
"A bow bespeaks terror, but this bow has neither string nor arrow, and a bow alone will do little execution. It is a bow, but it is directed upwards, not towards the earth; for the seals of the covenant were intended to comfort, not to terrify."[592]
"God could certainly turn the bow of judgment upon us, because we've broken His law and deserve judgment. But He has turned the bow toward heaven and taken the punishment for us Himself!"[593]
This covenant would remain for "all future generations" (v. 12). People have no responsibility to guarantee the perpetuity of this covenant; God will do all that He promised (v. 9). Observe the recurrence of "I," "Myself," and "My" in these verses. God was making His promise—to all living creatures for all time going forward—very personal. Note that He said that the rainbow would remind Him of His promise; it was primarily a reminder to God and secondarily to human beings. Finally, this covenant is unconditional (v. 9), universal (v. 11), and everlasting (v. 12).[594]
"None of the regulations that follow is temporary or ever to be abrogated as long as the present world era continues."[595]
"What distinguishes the Noahic [Covenant] from the patriarchal one and for that matter all others recounted in the Old Testament is its truly universal perspective. It is God's commitment to the whole of humanity and all terrestrial creation—including the surviving animal population."[596]
"The covenant with Noah [6:18; 9:9-16] is entirely unconditional rather than a conditional covenant, as in the Edenic situation. The certainty of the fulfillment of the covenant with Noah rested entirely with God and not with Noah. As this point is somewhat obscured in current discussion on the covenants of Scripture, it is important to distinguish covenants that are conditional from those that are unconditional. Conditional covenants depend on the recipients meeting the conditions imposed by God. Unconditional covenants declare that God's purpose will be fulfilled regardless of an individual's response. The fact that the covenant is one-sided—from God to humankind—does not mean that there is no response on the part of humankind. But the point is that the response is anticipated and does not leave the fulfillment of the covenant in doubt."[597]
The elements of the Noahic Covenant are the following: (1) God held man responsible for protecting the sanctity of human life by orderly governmental rule, even specifying the use of capital punishment to accomplish this (9:5-6; cf. Rom. 13:1-7). (2) God promised not to judge humanity again with a universal flood of water (8:21; 9:11-16), and He confirmed the established order of nature (8:22; 9:2). (3) God permitted people to eat animal flesh, evidently for the first time (9:3-4). (4) God announced that Canaan's descendants would be servants to their brethren (9:25-26), Shem's descendants would enjoy a special relationship to the LORD (9:26-27), and Japheth's descendants would become enlarged races (9:27).
"… the author is intentionally drawing out the similarities between God's covenant with Noah and the covenant at Sinai. Why? The answer that best fits with the author's purposes is that he wants to show that God's covenant at Sinai is not a new act of God. The covenant is rather a return to God's original promises. Once again at Sinai, as he had done in the past, God is at work restoring his fellowship with man and bringing man back to himself. The covenant with Noah plays an important role in the author's development of God's restoration of blessing. It lies midway between God's original blessing of all mankind (1:28) and God's promise to bless 'all peoples on the earth' through Abraham (12:1-3)."[598]
3. The curse on Canaan 9:18-29
This pericope presents the characteristics of the three branches of the human family that proceeded from Noah. Moses stressed the themes of blessing and cursing. God "cursed" Canaan with slavery ("A servant of servants he shall be to his brothers," v. 25), because Ham (Canaan's father) showed disrespect of Noah. The LORD blessed Shem and Japheth, because they showed regard for their father's vulnerable condition ("Shem and Japheth … covered the nakedness of their father," v. 23).
"The world seems all set for a new start. The slate has been wiped clean, and we hope that the mistakes of the antediluvians will not be repeated. But no sooner is the blessing pronounced and the eternal covenant confirmed than man lapses again."[599]
9:18-19 These verses introduce what follows.
9:20-24 Evidently Noah became so "drunk" that he took off all his clothes; he "uncovered himself inside his tent" (v. 21). There is no explicit indication that Ham disrobed his father or committed some homosexual act.[600] However, because the expression "saw the nakedness" (v. 22) is sometimes used of sexual intercourse, it is possible that some form of sexual immorality was involved.[601] One writer argued that Ham's sin was that he failed to cover his father's nakedness.[602] Perhaps he failed to respect his father's godliness.[603] Shem's and Japheth's act of covering their father's nakedness was similar to God's act of covering Adam and Eve's nakedness (3:20); it was a godly thing to do.
Noah's shame was not that he drank some "wine" (v. 20), but that he drank to excess and thereby lost his self-control, which resulted in his vulnerability (cf. Eph. 5:18). Certainly this incident should warn the reader of the potential harm of drunkenness, both for the drinker and for his or her family.
"Whatever the actual nature of his [Noah's] conduct might have been [in becoming drunk and uncovering himself in his tent], the author presents his deed as one of disgrace and shame ('nakedness,' as in Ge 3), and he seems intent on depicting the scene in such a way as to establish parallels between Noah's disgrace (he took of the fruit of his orchard and became naked) and that of Adam and Eve (who took of the fruit of the Garden and saw that they were naked)."[604]
Ham's response to seeing Noah's nakedness (v. 22) represents an early step in the abandonment of morality after the Flood. Ham dishonored Noah, not by seeing him naked, but by his apparent amusement or delight in his father's condition (cf. Gen. 19:26; Exod. 33:20; Judg. 13:22; 1 Sam. 6:19). He probably should have covered Noah up himself, rather than drawing his brothers' attention to his father's nakedness and thereby magnifying it.
"It is difficult for someone living in the modern world to understand the modesty and discretion of privacy called for in ancient morality. Nakedness in the OT was from the beginning a thing of shame for fallen man [3:7] … the state of nakedness was both undignified and vulnerable. To see someone uncovered was to bring dishonor and to gain advantage for potential exploitation."[605]
"The sons of Noah are here shown to belong to two groups of humankind, those who like Adam and Eve hide the shame of their nakedness and those who like Ham, or rather the Canaanites, have no sense of their shame before God. The one group, the line of Shem, will be blessed (9:26); but the other, the Canaanites (not the Hamites), can only be cursed (9:25)."[606]
"Shem, the father of Abraham, is the paradigm of later Israel; and Ham of their archenemies, Egypt and Canaan (10:6). Lying behind this is the ancient concept of corporate personality. Because of this unity of father-son, the character of the father is anticipated in the deeds of the sons. Hebrew theology recognized that due to parental influence future generations usually committed the same acts as their fathers whether for ill or good. In this case the curse is directed at Ham's son as Ham's just deserts for the disrespect he had toward his own father, Noah."[607]
Ham's action may have also involved an attempt to take the leadership of the family from Noah.[608] Shem and Japheth's act of covering their father's nakedness, however, imitated God, who covered Adam and Eve's nakedness in the garden (3:21).
Brian Peterson discussed 17 instances of sexual aggression in Genesis, apart from polygamy, that resulted from the Fall. Six of these were men against women, three men against men, three women against women, and five women against men. Ham's sin against Noah is the first on his list.[609]
9:25-27 This oracle (divine pronouncement) is the first one in which Moses recorded a human uttering a curse. It is a prophecy from God announcing divine judgment on Ham's descendants. As explained above, Noah saw, with prophetic insight, that Ham's son Canaan would repeat and further his father's sin. Noah, as a prophet, announced the future of this particular man's descendants (cf. Gen. 49; Deut. 33; et al.).
"For his breach of the family, his [Ham's] own family would falter."[610]
The Canaanites became infamous for their shameless depravity in sexual matters.[611] When Joshua invaded their land, he proved to be God's instrument of punishment for the Canaanites. Moses' mention of Noah's curse on Canaan would have encouraged his original Israelite readers by reminding them that the people who occupied the land that they were about to enter were cursed. Likewise, his mention of Noah's blessing of Shem, the ancestor of Abram and the Israelites, would have encouraged them (v. 26).
There is no basis for the popular notion that this oracle doomed the Hamites, who settled mainly in Africa, to a position of inferiority or slavery among the other peoples of the world. "Canaan," and only his branch of the family, are the subject of this prophecy, not Ham and all his descendants. The curse on Canaan was a prophecy of what God would do to Canaan's branch of the human family, because the sinful attitude and act of Ham would eventually come to full flower in his son Canaan. Noah, as a prophet, looked down the corridors of time, with God's revelation, and saw what would happen.
"There are no grounds in our passage for an ethnic reading of the 'curse' as some have done, supposing that some peoples are inferior to others. Here Genesis looks only to the social and religious life of Israel's ancient rival Canaan, whose immorality defiled their land and threatened Israel's religious fidelity (cf. Lev 18:28; Josh 23). It was not an issue of ethnicity but of the wicked practices that characterized Canaanite culture."[612]
The Canaanites are now extinct.
"With the defeat of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar in 572 B.C. the Canaanites/Phoenicians ceased to be of importance in biblical history."[613]
"In dealing with the Canaanites and their religious ideas we must never forget that Canaanites and Phoenicians were one people, so far as language and cultural tradition went."[614]
The prophecy about Japheth living in the tents of Shem (v. 27) may have been fulfilled when Alexander the Great defeated the Persians and took control of Canaan.[615]
9:28-29 These verses conclude this story, as verses 18 and 19 introduced it.
The general lesson of this passage (vv. 18-29) is that God blesses those who behave righteously, but He curses those who abandon moral restraint. In view of what studies on the effects of viewing pornography have taught us, it should be no surprise that the root of the depraved Canaanite culture was looking at someone's nakedness. We need to be very careful about gazing at nudity. It can lead to an addiction that results in complete corruption and finally ends in divine judgment.
"Instructively, the first three heroes of faith listed in Hebrews are from Genesis 4—6: Abel, Enoch, and Noah. All believed God, but their destinies were significantly different. Abel believed God and died. Enoch believed God and did not die. Noah believed God, and everyone else died in the Flood; eventually he died a natural death at the good old age of 950 years. We cannot dictate where faith will lead. The human tendency is to see only Enoch as the example of faith, but Abel is also given as our example. What all three have in common is that they walked by faith and pleased God. That faith is an example to us."[616]
The husband of a former student of mine told me that his ancestors many generations ago were mainly believers. Several generations back, 11 of 12 children became Christians. The head of his branch of the family was the twelfth child, and the only unbeliever in that generation of the family. As the years passed those 11 believing children produced many other Christian descendants who became preachers, teachers, pastors, doctors, missionaries, and other godly people who became a blessing to multitudes of people. His unbelieving ancestor produced several alcoholics, criminals, and blights on society. My student's husband was the first person in five generations to become a Christian from that branch of his family. The family tree of Jonathan Edwards, like the "godly branch" of the family just described, also produced much good fruit.
There are many similarities between the Creation story and the Flood story.[617]
|
| The First Beginning: | The Second Beginning: |
| God's Action | God created Adam and Eve from the dust (2:7). | God saved Noah and his family from destruction (7:23). |
| God's Provision | God planted the Garden and gave Adam and Eve plants to eat (1:29-31; 2:8). | God saved animal species along with Noah and gave Noah and his family animals for food (6:17-22). |
| God's Blessing | Be fruitful and multiply; have dominion over all living things (1:28). | Be fruitful and multiply; all living things will be filled with fear and dread of you (9:1, 2). |
| God's Covenant | [You have great freedom, but if you disobey Me you will die (2:17).] | Never again will God destroy the earth with a flood; He will always provide the annual seasons (8:21, 22; 9:11). |
| God's Prohibition | Do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (2:16). | Do not shed the blood of any person (without divine authorization; 9:5, 6). |
| God's Warning | Those who eat of this tree will die (2:17). | Of those who shed blood God will demand a reckoning (9:5). |
| God's Evaluation | It is very good (1:31). | Humanity's heart is evil (8:21). |
E. What became of Noah's sons 10:1—11:9
This section gives, in some detail, the distribution of Noah's descendants over the earth after the Flood (cf. 9:18-19). Part of God's plan to bring blessing to humankind involved dividing the human race by languages, territories, and nations.
This fourth toledot section (10:1—11:9) brings the inspired record of primeval (earliest) events to a climax and provides a transition to the patriarchal narratives. All the nations of the world, in their various lands, with their different languages, descended from Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Of special interest to the original Israelite readers were the Canaanites and the other ancient Near Eastern powers.
"From this section we learn that the 'blessing' is for all peoples because all nations have their source in the one man, Noah, whom God favored. Moreover, the disunity among Noah's offspring that resulted from the tower event [11:1-9] did not prevent the blessing God had envisioned for humanity."[618]
"The Tower of Babel incident (11:1-9), though following the table in the present literary arrangement, actually precedes chronologically the dispersal of the nations. This interspersal of narrative (11:1-9) separates the two genealogies of Shem (10:21-31; 11:10-26), paving the way for the particular linkage between the Terah (Abraham) clan and the Shemite lineage (11:27). The story of the tower also looks ahead by anticipating the role that Abram (12:1-3) will play in restoring the blessing to the dispersed nations."[619]
1. The table of nations ch. 10
This table reinforces the fact that Yahweh created all peoples (cf. Deut. 32:8; Amos 9:7; Acts 17:26). Like the genealogy in chapter 5, this one traces 10 main entities, and the last one named in each case had three sons.
This chapter contains one of the oldest, if not the oldest, ethnological table in the literature of the ancient world. It reveals a remarkable understanding of the ethnic and linguistic situation following the Flood. Almost all the names in this chapter have been found in archaeological discoveries in the last two centuries. Many of them appear in subsequent books of the Old Testament.
"… the names in chapter 10 are presented in a dissimilar manner: the context may be that of an individual (e.g., Nimrod), a city (e.g., Asshur), a people (e.g., Jebusites) or a nation (e.g., Elam). A failure to appreciate this mixed arrangement of Genesis 10 has led, we believe, to numerous unwarranted conclusions. For example, it should not be assumed that all the descendants of any one of Noah's sons lived in the same locality, spoke the same language, or even belonged to a particular race."[620]
"The table of nations is a 'horizontal' genealogy rather than a 'vertical' one (those in chaps. 5 and 11 are vertical). Its purpose is not primarily to trace ancestry; instead it shows political, geographical, and ethnic affiliations among tribes for various reasons, most notable being holy war. Tribes shown to be 'kin' would be in league together. Thus this table aligns the predominant tribes in and around the land promised to Israel. These names include founders of tribes, clans, cities, and territories."[621]
In contrast to the genealogy in chapter 5, this one lists no ages. It contains place and group names, which are spoken of as the antecedents of other places or groups, as well as the names of individuals. God built nations from families. Thus it is quite clearly a selective list, not comprehensive. The writer's choice of material shows that he had a particular interest in presenting Israel's neighbors. Israel would deal with, displace, or subjugate many of these peoples, as well as the Canaanites (ch. 9). They all had a common origin.
10:1 Evidently 70 nations descended from Shem, Ham, and Japheth: 26 from Shem, 30 from Ham, and 14 from Japheth (cf. Deut. 32:8). Seventy became a traditional round number for a large group of descendants.[622] Jacob's family also comprised 70 people (46:27), which may indicate that Moses viewed Israel as a microcosm of humanity, as he presented it here. God set the microcosm (Israel) apart to bless the macrocosm (all of humanity).
10:2-5 Japheth's descendants settled north, east, and west of Ararat.[623] Their distance from the land of Israel probably explains the brief treatment that they received in this list, compared with that of the Hamites and Shemites. The "coastlands" (v. 5) are the inland areas and the northern Mediterranean coastlands on the present European shore, from Turkey to Spain. The dispersion of the nations "according to … language" (v. 5) took place after Babel (ch. 11) all along these coasts, as well as elsewhere.
"The Akkadian, Assyrian, and Babylonian dialects constitute the older East Semitic branch of this family, while Hebrew, Aramaic, Phoenician, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic are included in the West Semitic."[624]
10:6-20 Ham's family moved east, south, and southwest into Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Africa. Canaan's descendants (vv. 15-21) did not migrate as far south, but settled in Palestine.[625] ("Palestine" [land of the "Philistines," who settled in "Philistia"] is a later name for the land of Canaan.[626]) The length of these Hamite Canaanite lists indicates the importance of these people and places in Israel's later history. Note the absence of the common sevens in the structuring in Canaan's genealogy, suggesting chaos.[627]
It is possible that Sargon of Agade, whom many secular historians regard as the first ruler of Babylon, may be the "Nimrod" (meaning "We Shall Rebel") of verses 8-10.[628] Many people in ancient times had more than one name. His description as "a mighty one" (v. 8, Heb. gibbor) means a "tyrant" or "despot." He evidently was "a mighty hunter" (v. 9) of men, not just beasts.[629] Reference to him probably foreshadows 11:1 through 9, which describes what took place in Babylon. The Greeks connected the constellation Orion with Nimrod.[630] A counterpart to Nimrod is the hero of the Babylonian flood tale: Gilgamesh.[631]
"The influx of the Amorites in Canaan is disputed. It does not necessarily follow that the original Amorites, attributed to Hamite descent in Genesis 10, were a Semitic people since the term 'Amorite' in ancient Near Eastern documents does not serve as a definitive source for designating ethnicity. Moreover, linguistic evidence does not always assure true ethnic derivation."[632]
10:21-31 Shem's posterity settled mainly to the northeast and southeast of the Canaanites. This branch of the human family is also important in the Genesis record of Israel's history.
"Eber" (v. 21) is probably the origin of the name "Hebrew," a racial term by which the Israelites' neighbors referred to them.[633] "Israel" is a national term. Later these names were used as synonyms.[634]
"According to Gen. x. 22, Shem had five sons, Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram, whose descendants peopled and gave name to the following countries:—The descendants of Elam occupied the country called Elymais, between the Lower Tigris and the mountains of Iran; of Asshur, Assyria, lying to the north—the hilly country between the Tigris and the mountain range of Iran; of Arphaxad, the country of Arrapachitis on the Upper Tigris, on the eastern banks of that river, where the highlands of Armenia begin to descend. Lud, the father of the Lydians, is the representative of the Semites who went westward to Asia Minor; and Aram of the Semites who spread along the middle course of the Euphrates to the Tigris in the east, and to Syria in the west."[635]
"When the two lines of Shem are compared (10:21-31; 11:10-26), there is a striking divergence at the point of Eber's descendants, Peleg and Joktan [v. 25]. In chap. 10 Peleg is dropped altogether after his mention, while the nonelect line of Joktan is detailed. It is left to the second lineage in chap. 11 to trace out Peleg's role as ancestral father of Abraham "[636]
Some creationists believe that the division of the earth in Peleg's day (v. 25) refers to continental drift, but many creationists do not hold this view.[637]
"This Table of Nations, then, traces affiliation of tribes to show relationships, based on some original physical connections. It is clear that the writer is emphasizing the development of these nations that were of primary importance to Israel (yalad sections) within the overall structure of the Table (b'ne arrangement)."[638]
"The three geographical arcs of the branches intersect at the center—that is, Canaan, Israel's future homeland."[639]
This chapter of Genesis reveals that it was God's plan to bless the human race by dividing the family of man by languages, locations, and leaders. God formerly blessed the earth by dividing the light from the darkness, the earth from the heavens, and the land from the seas (ch. 1).
"By correlating the number of nations [in ch. 10, i.e., 70] with the number of the seed of Abraham [in 46:27, i.e., 70], he [the writer] holds Abraham's 'seed' before the reader as a new humanity and Abraham himself as a kind of second Adam, the 'father of many nations' (Ge 17:5)."[640]
"… his intention is not to give an exhaustive list but rather a representative list, one which, for him, is obtained in the number seven."[641]
"The table's figure of 'seventy' for the world's nations is alluded to by Jesus in the sending forth of the seventy disciples, as recounted by Luke (10:1-16). Here the evangelist emphasizes the mission of the church in its worldwide evangelistic endeavors."[642]
2. The dispersion at Babel 11:1-9
This pericope is a flashback that explains the division of the earth in Peleg's time ("in his days the earth was divided," 10:25). The main emphasis in this section is not the building of the tower of Babel, but the dispersion of the people. We can see this in the literary structure of the passage.[643]
A All the earth had one language (v. 1)
B there (v. 2)
C one to another (v. 3)
D Come, let's make bricks (v. 3)
E Let's make for ourselves (v. 4)
F a city and a tower
G And the LORD came down to see (v. 5; cf. 8:1)
F' the city and the tower (v. 5)
E' that the humans built (v. 5)
D' Come, let's confuse (v. 7)
C' everyone the language of his neighbor (v. 7)
B' from there (v. 8)
A' (confused) the language of the whole earth (v. 9)
When the people of the world, united by a common language, attempted to preserve their unity, and to make a name for themselves by building a tower that would reach into heaven—hoping to achieve God-like power and authority—Yahweh frustrated their plan and scattered everyone over the face of the whole earth by frustrating their ability to communicate in the language that bound them together.
"The tower of Babel story is the last great judgment that befell mankind in primeval times. Its place and function in Gen 1—11 may be compared to the fall in Gen 3 and the sons of God episode in Gen 6:1-4, both of which triggered divine judgments of great and enduring consequence."[644]
This story explains to God's people how God scattered the nations and why. Sending judgment upon them for trying to establish a world order in opposition to divine rule (human government run amuck), God struck the thing that bound people together, namely, their common language. Chronologically the Babel incident preceded the dispersal that Moses described with genealogies in chapter 10.
"By placing the Tower of Babel incident just prior to the patriarchal stories, the biblical writer is suggesting, in the first place, that post-Flood humanity is as iniquitous as pre-Flood humanity. Rather than sending something as devastating as a flood to annihilate mankind, however, God now places his hope in a covenant with Abraham as a powerful solution to humanity's sinfulness. Thus problem (ch. 11) and solution (ch. 12) are brought into immediate juxtaposition, and the forcefulness of this structural move would have been lost had ch. 10 intervened between the two."[645]
"As it is presently situated in the text, the account of the founding of Babylon falls at the end of the list of fourteen names from the line of Joktan (10:26-29). At the end of the list of the ten names of Peleg's line, however, is the account of the call of Abraham (11:27—12:10). So two great lines of the descendants of Shem divide in the two sons of Eber (10:25). One ends in Babylon, the other in the Promised Land."[646]
"By placing the narrative between two genealogies of 'Shem,' the author establishes a relationship between the central point of the narrative—'Let us make a name ['Shem'] for ourselves' 911:4)—and the central point of the patriarchal narratives—'and God said, "I will make your name ["Shem"] great"' (12:2a). Thus the genealogies of 'Shem' provide a narrative link between the story of the fall of Babylon (11:1-9) and the account of the call of Abraham (12:1-3)."[647]
One writer argued for the identification of the tower of Babel incident with the demise and dispersion of the last great Sumerian dynasty centered at Ur.[648]
"Although no record of the attempted building of the tower at Babel and the confusion of tongues has been found in cuneiform literature [as of 1894], a tradition of such an event was current outside of Israel, and was ascribed by the transmitters of it to Babylonia."[649]
11:1-2 Some of the Hamites migrated "east" (v. 2, specifically southeast) to the plain of Shinar (cf. 10:10). This was in the Mesopotamian basin (modern Iraq). (Some translations have them going from the east (e.g., ESV, NKJV, HCSV), but the Hebrew text reads literally "and he was as to move them to east and they found …").
"The Hebrews used the name Shinar, originally a region in northern Mesopotamia, to designate the whole region of Mesopotamia."[650]
"In light of such intentional uses of the notion of 'eastward' within the Genesis narratives, we can see that here too the author intentionally draws the story of the founding of Babylon into the larger scheme at work throughout the book. It is a scheme that contrasts God's way of blessing (e.g., Eden and the Promised Land) with man's own attempt to find the 'good.' In the Genesis narratives, when man goes 'east,' he leaves the land of blessing (Eden and the Promised Land) and goes to a land where the greatest of his hopes will turn to ruin (Babylon and Sodom).[651]
"Following the Ararat departure, the people migrated southeast to the lower Euphrates valley. Genesis 1—11 then has come full circle from 'Eden' to 'Babel,' both remembered for the expulsion of their residents."[652]
11:3-4 The motivation for building "a city" (cf. 4:17, Cain's "city") with its "tower" was to make the builders "a name" (v. 4; i.e., to establish world domination, authority, and power in God's place; cf. Ps. 14:1). Ironically, history has not preserved the name of a single one of Babel's builders.[653] Later God would make a "name" for Abram (12:2-3).[654] The object of this endeavor was evidently to establish a center by which the builders might maintain their unity, achieve God-like authority, and gain world domination, with a one-world government.
"A defensive wall is the hallmark of a city (see 4:17). Cities in the ancient Near East were not designed to be lived in but were intended for religious and public purposes."[655]
God desired unity for humankind, but one that He created, not one founded on a social state.[656] The builders wanted to "empower" themselves. Both motive and object were ungodly. God had instructed man to "fill the earth" (1:28), to spread over the whole planet.
The builders of the "tower" seem to have intended that it serve as a memorial or landmark, among other things. It was probably a ziggurat used for religious purposes.
"Mesopotamian religion claimed that their cities were of divine parentage. A symbol of this obsession with divinity among the Mesopotamians was the ziggurat (Akk. ziqqurratu) that was erected as early as the third millennium B.C. The ziggurat was a step-ladder edifice, made up of mud bricks, whose bottom was square or rectangular. The precise meaning of the structure is unknown, though it is widely agreed that it formed a stairway between the gods and earth (cf. Gen 28:12). At the foot of the ziggurat as well as the pinnacle was a temple area serving as a habitation for the god. Ziggurats may have been considered an earthly imitation of the heavenly residence of the gods."[657]
"A small pavement of rough limestone blocks at Uruk [also known as Erech and Warka, on the Euphrates River about midway between the ruins of Babylon and the Persian Gulf] is the oldest stone construction in Mesopotamia, and here, too, is found the first ziggurat. The Assyrian-Babylonian word ziqquratu comes from the verb zaqaru meaning 'to be high, or raised up,' and hence signifies the top of a mountain, or a staged tower. Such a tower provided a sort of artificial mountain in the flat Mesopotamian plain as a high place for a god whose shrine stood on its summit. From its first appearance here at Uruk, it was ever afterward the most characteristic feature of temple architecture in Mesopotamia, and the locations of more than two dozen such structures are known today."[658]
"The ziggurat which stood at Babylon in the days of Hammurabi and was known as Etemenanki, 'the House of the Terrace-platform of Heaven and Earth,' became more famous [than the ziggurat at Ur] and was remembered in biblical tradition as the Tower of Babel, but the zuiggurat [sic ziggurat] at Ur is today the best preserved of all monuments of this type and therefore the best fitted to give a vivid impression of their character (Fig. 19)."[659]
Verse 4 identifies two basic errors of humankind: (1) the determination to get to God by one's own works rather than admitting that this is impossible and trusting in God to make entrance into His presence possible—in short, salvation by works ("let's build … [to] reach into heaven"), and (2) the determination to glorify self rather than God ("let's make a name for ourselves"). These errors have marked humankind throughout history.
11:5-6 The builders undoubtedly expected to ascend to heaven to meet God. Instead, God descended to earth to meet them ("The LORD came down to see the city and the tower"), another anthropomorphism, here referring to God's omniscience [total knowledge]. If God had allowed this project to continue the results would have been even worse, and more serious, than they were at this time. The sin of the builders was their refusal to obey God-given directives.
"Depraved humanity are united in their spiritual endeavor to find, through technology, existential meaning apart from God and the means to transgress its boundaries. Unless God intervenes and divides them by confounding their speech, nothing can stop human beings in their overweening pride and their desire for autonomy."[660]
The construction of cities by itself was not sinful. God chose Jerusalem for His people, and He will create the New Jerusalem for believers to inhabit. It is the pride and security that people place in their cities—and their arrogant independence from Himself, the Most High God—that God disapproves.
The movement of humanity in our day is again, or still, to unite and so achieve security and independence apart from God. This will culminate, the Book of Revelation reveals, in a one-world government under the leadership of Antichrist. The present breaking down of racial, linguistic, and geo-political distinctions is evidence of this movement. From the human viewpoint this unity seems good, but from the divine perspective it is further evidence of rebellion against God. He will judge it one day, when Jesus Christ returns to the earth to terminate Antichrist and to rule for 1,000 years (Rev. 19:11—20:6).
11:7 God's soliloquy ("Come, let Us go down ") in this verse mimics the language of the tower builders in verse 4 ("Come, let's build"; cf. 1:26). The confusion of language probably involved more than just the introduction of new words, since the original single language produced the thousands that we have today.
"If language is the audible expression of emotions, conceptions, and thoughts of the mind, the cause of the confusion or division of the one human language into different national dialects might be sought in an effect produced upon the human mind, by which the original unity of emotion, conception, thought, and will was broken up. This inward unity had no doubt been already disturbed by sin, but the disturbance had not yet amounted to a perfect breach."[661]
Some scholars believe that this judgment resulted in ethnic and racial distinctions in humankind eventually. They believe that the Table of Nations in chapter 10 may also imply this.[662]
11:8 The resultant confusion led to a scattering of the people "over the face of all the earth" (cf. v. 9). God did not allow human rebellion to reach the level that it did before the Flood. He forced people to do what they refused to do voluntarily, namely, scatter over the face of the earth. This is the third great judgment on sinful humanity in this first major section of Genesis (chs. 1—11), the first two being Adam and Eve's expulsion from Eden, and the second being the Flood.
"They [the rebellious builders] deserved death, but are only banished or transported; for the patience of God is very great towards a provoking world."[663]
Some interpreters take the confusion of languages to have been a local phenomenon only. One writer believed that lightning struck the tower of Babel, and the confusion of speech that followed resulted from a scrambling of the electrical circuits in the brains of those struck.[664] This is an interesting idea but impossible to prove or disprove. Most interpreters, however, regard this event as the source of the major language groups in the world today.
"It should be observed that the change of speech is not asserted to have been sudden, though it may have been; much less is it asserted that all differences observable in languages the world over, or even those characteristic differences which distinguish the great families of language, owe their origin to the confusion at Babel. The event at Babel must not be minimized, neither must it be exaggerated."[665]
11:9 "Babel" sounds like the Hebrew word for "confuse" (balal), and it means "the gate of gods" in Akkadian.
"… Gen 11:1-9, the tower of Babel story, is a satire on the claims of Babylon to be the center of civilization and its temple tower the gate of heaven (E[numa]E[lish] 6:50-80): Babel does not mean gate of God, but 'confusion' and 'folly.' Far from its temple's top reaching up to heaven, it is so low that God has to descend from heaven just to see it! (11:4-9)."[666]
This was the original "Babylon" (the Greek form of the name "Babel"), that forever afterward was the city most characterized in the Bible by rebellion against God's authority, and the desire to earn salvation by works, idolatry, and self-assertion. It stands as a symbol of organized rebellion against God elsewhere in Scripture, and God will eventually destroy it (Rev. 17 and 18). The spirit of Babel is strong throughout the world today.[667]
"Man certainly did not expect his project to take such a turn. He did not anticipate that the name he wanted to make for himself would refer to a place of noncommunication."[668]
The story of Babel is important for several reasons:
1. It explains the beginning of, and the reason for, the various languages of humankind.
2. It probably explains the origin of the "races" within humankind.
"The separate language groups no longer could inter-marry freely with the rest of mankind. As in-breeding and lack of access to the larger pool of genes occurred, ethnic characteristics developed. Furthermore, each local environment tended to favor selection of certain traits, and eliminate the others. Ethnic characteristics, such as skin color, arose from loss of genetic variability, not from origin of new genes through mutation as suggested by evolution."[669]
"The concept of race is an evolutionary idea (Acts 17:26). All humans possess the same color, just different amounts of it. We all descended from Noah and Adam."[670]
"The Bible doesn't tell us what skin color our first parents had, but, from a design point of view, the 'middle [color]' makes a great beginning. Starting with medium-skinned parents (AaBb), it would take only one generation to produce all the variation we see in human skin color today. In fact, this is the normal situation in India today. Some Indians are as dark as the darkest Africans, and some—perhaps a brother or sister in the same family—as light as the lightest Europeans. I once knew a family from India that included members with every major skin color you could see anywhere in the world."[671]
"But now notice what happens if human groups were isolated after creation. If those with very dark skins (AABB) migrate into the same areas and/or marry only those with very dark skins, then all their children will have very dark skins. (AABB is the only possible combination of AB egg and sperm cells, which are the only types that can be produced by AABB parents.) Similarly, parents with very light skins (aabb) can have only very light-skinned children, since they don't have any A or B genes to pass on. Even certain medium-skinned parents (AAbb or aaBB) can get 'locked-in' to having only medium-skinned children, like the Orientals, Polynesians, and some of my ancestors, the Native Americans."[672]
"Where people with different skin colors get together again (as they do in the West Indies, for example), you find the full range of variation again—nothing less, but nothing more either, than what we started with. Clearly, all this is variation within kind."[673]
"What happened as the descendants of medium-skinned parents produced a variety of descendants? Evolution? Not at all. Except for albinism (the mutational loss of skin color), the human gene pool is no bigger and no different now than the gene pool present at creation. As people multiplied, the genetic variability built right into the first created human beings came to visible expression. The darkest Nigerian and the lightest Norwegian, the tallest Watusi and the shortest Pygmy, the highest soprano and the lowest bass could have been present right from the beginning in two quite average-looking people. Great variation in size, color, form, function, etc., would also be present in the two created ancestors of all the other kinds (plants and animals) as well."[674]
"Evolutionists assume that all life started from one or a few chemically evolved life forms with an extremely small gene pool. For evolutionists, enlargement of the gene pool by selection of random mutations is a slow, tedious process that burdens each type with a 'genetic load' of harmful mutations and evolutionary leftovers. Creationists assume each created kind began with a large gene pool, designed to multiply and fill the earth with all its tremendous ecologic and geographic variety. (See Genesis, chapter 1.)"[675]
"Many thinkers labor under the illusion that evolution is an empirical science when in fact it is a philosophy."[676]
"We can never have too big a conception of God, and the more scientific knowledge (in whatever field) advances, the greater becomes our idea of His vast and complicated wisdom."[677]
3. The Babel story demonstrates the inclination of fallen man to rebel against God, and to try to provide for his needs in his own way, rather than by trusting and obeying God.
4. It also illustrates that rebellion against God results in: (1) broken fellowship between God and man, and (2) failure to realize God's intention for man in His creation, namely, that he rule the earth effectively.
5. Additionally, it provides the historical background for what follows in Genesis, since Abraham, the great patriarch and father of the Hebrews, came from Mesopotamia.
"Irony is seen in the beginning and the ending of this passage. The group at Babel began as the whole earth (11:1), but now they were spread over the whole earth (11:9). By this time the lesson is clarified: God's purpose will be accomplished in spite of the arrogance and defiance of man's own purposes. He brings down the proud, but exalts the faithful."[678]
"The significance of this little story is great. It explains to God's people how the nations were scattered abroad. Yet the import goes much deeper. The fact that it was Babylon, the beginning of kingdoms under Nimrod from Cush, adds a rather ominous warning: Great nations cannot defy God and long survive. The new nation of Israel need only survey the many nations around her to perceive that God disperses and curses the rebellious, bringing utter confusion and antagonism among them. If Israel would obey and submit to God's will, then she would be the source of blessing to the world."[679]
"Unfortunately, Israel also raised her head in pride and refused to obey the Lord God. Thus she too was scattered across the face of the earth."[680]
F. What became of Shem 11:10-26
"The function of this genealogy is not so much to connect Abraham with the preceding events, as the previous genealogies have done, but to provide the reader with the necessary background for understanding the events in the life of Abraham. The list includes eight names. All the individuals named are relevant for understanding the events of the following narrative except 'Iscah' (v. 29). The inclusion of this otherwise insignificant name in the list suggests that the author is seeking to achieve a specific number of names. Thus far in the Book of Genesis, the author has followed a pattern of listing ten names between important individuals in the narrative. In this short list only eight names are given, hence if we are expecting ten names, the number of individuals in this list appears to be short by two names. By listing only eight names, the author leaves the reader uncertain who the ninth and, more importantly, the tenth name will be. It is only as the narrative unfolds that the ninth and tenth names are shown to be the two sons of Abraham, 'Ishmael' (16:15) and 'Isaac' (21:3)."[681]
"The Babel account (11:1-9) is not the end of early Genesis. If it were, the story would conclude on the sad note of human failure. But as with earlier events in Genesis 1—11, God's grace once again supersedes human sin, insuring the continued possibilities of the promissory blessings (1:28; 9:1). The scaffolding of human pride would be dismantled by the erection of the Shemite line that culminates in obedient Abraham, who likewise is found in the region of Shinar. Abraham would prove to be the nations' deliverance."[682]
"Without the blessing of God the situation of humanity is without hope: that seems to be the chief thrust of the opening chapters of Genesis."[683]
In contrast to the genealogy in chapter 5, this one emphasizes life and expansion rather than death, even though longevity was declining.[684] This genealogy starts with Noah's son Shem, whom God blessed, and it concludes with Abram, whom God purposed to bless. This is the line of Israel's ancestors. It is a "vertical" list, of the type used in the ancient Near East to document legitimate claims to thrones or inheritances.[685] This genealogy, like the one in chapter 5, appears to be complete. But since other biblical genealogies have gaps in their lists, we may be suspicious that this one may have gaps as well.[686] Note that the pattern Moses followed in this list is: X lived so many years and begat Y, and X lived so many more years and begat other children. This is the same pattern we find in chapter 5, except that there, the final notation is: X lived a total of so many years and died. The purpose of this genealogy in chapter 11 is to connect Abram to Noah, and to give background information essential for understanding the story of Abram that follows.[687]
"… the author's aim is to show that God's promise concerning the seed of the woman cannot be thwarted by the confusion and scattering of the nations at Babylon."[688]
"If the message of Genesis is essentially one of redemption, Gen 3—11 explains why man needs salvation and what he needs to be saved from. Chaps. 1—2, in describing the original state of the world, also describe the goal of redemption, to which ultimately the world and humanity will return when the patriarchal promises are completely fulfilled."[689]
"An extensive statistical analysis of the life-spans of the patriarchs, as given in Genesis Chapter 5 and 11, shows that statistically the life-span can be considered constant before the Flood, while after the Flood the data can be fitted by an asymptotic exponential decay curve. Also, it is concluded that as for the life-spans reported in Genesis Chapter 11, the data in the Masoretic text are the authentic ones; those in the Septuagint have been tampered with. Moreover, it is statistically unlikely that there are gaps in the genealogies in Genesis Chapter 11."[690]
The genealogies in Genesis 11:10 through 26 and 1 Chronicles 1:17 through 27 are identical, but the one in Luke 3:34 through 36 inserts the name "Cainan" between Arpachshad and Shelah. The inclusion of "Cainan" may indicate that Luke used the Septuagint to compose his genealogy, since this name appears in this Greek translation, but not in the Masoretic genealogies. "Cainan" appears elsewhere in Luke's list as Adam's great-grandson (Luke 3:37-38), so this may be a scribal error.[691]
Adam, Noah, and Abram all fathered three named sons, linking them as "saviors" of humanity. In Abram's case, these sons (descendants) were Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph.
The genealogy of Shem (11:10-26), in this pericope, prefaces the story of Abram (11:27—25:11). This structure serves as a prototype (first example) for the narrative that follows in Genesis. Similarly, the genealogy of Ishmael (25:12-18) introduces the story of Jacob and Esau (25:19—35:29), and the genealogy of Esau (36:1-43) introduces the story of Joseph (37:2—50:26).
"With 11:26 the scene has finally been set for the patriarchal history to unfold. The opening chapters of Genesis have provided us the fundamental insights for interpreting these chapters properly. Gen 1 revealed the character of God and the nature of the world man finds himself in. Gen 2 and 3 portrayed the relationship between man and woman, and the effects man's disobedience has had on man-woman and divine-human relations. Chap. 5 sketched the long years that passed before the crisis of the great flood (chaps. 6—9), which almost destroyed all humanity for its sinfulness. The table of the nations (chap. 10) started the process of Israel's geographical and political self-definition with respect to the other nations in the world, but Gen 11:1-9 reminded us that the nations were in confusion and that mankind's proudest achievements were but folly in God's sight and under his judgment."[692]
"However, according to 11:10-26, just five generations after Peleg, whose lifetime according to 10:25 saw the confusion of languages at Babel, Abram arrives. As 12:3 will declare, it is through him that all the families of the earth will be blessed. Man is not without hope. The brevity of this genealogy is a reminder that God's grace constantly exceeds his wrath. He may punish to the third or fourth generation but he shows mercy to thousands (Deut 5:9; 7:9)."[693]
"Four key concepts presented in Genesis 1 through 11 are crucial for comprehending the rest of the Bible. First, the God who entered the lives of Abram and Sarai is the same God who created the entire universe. He is the only true and living God—Yahweh, the Creator and the Savior of the world. Second, all people have rebelled against God, their benevolent Creator, and His good will for them. Humanity has inherited a state of sinfulness from Adam and Eve's rebellion in the Garden of Eden. Third, God judges and will judge the actions of all people. God, by sending the Flood, made it clear to Noah and to everyone that human wickedness is entirely unacceptable. God cannot let evil reign free in His creation. Fourth, sin continues to plague all of humanity—even after the Flood. Although the Flood did not wash away sin, God, as the second half of Genesis (chs. 12—50) reveals, has a plan to save humanity from its own evil deeds."[694]
The chronological framework for the patriarchal stories (Abraham through Joseph) rests on two important texts:
1. 1 Kings 6:1 states that the Exodus took place 480 years before the fourth year of Solomon's reign (i.e., 967 B.C.). This makes the date of the Exodus close to, if not exactly, 1446 B.C.
2. Exodus 12:40 records that "the sons of Israel had lived in Egypt" 430 years before the Exodus, or from about 1876 B.C. This is the probable date when Jacob's family moved to Egypt (ch. 46).
From these two texts we can calculate other dates in the patriarchal period.
The historicity of the patriarchs continues to be a matter of scholarly debate.[695] The problem is the lack of explicit reference to the patriarchs in nonbiblical literature and in archaeology ("the scientific study of the material remains of the past"[696]). Scholars who reject the biblical testimony as unauthentic have been labeled "minimalists," and those who believe that the Hebrew Bible credibly supplements nonbiblical material are known as "maximalists." I am one of the latter, believing that the biblical records reliably testify to historical individuals and events recorded in this section of Genesis.[697] One liberal scholar made the following admission:
"It is not because scholars of to-day begin with more conservative presuppositions than their predecessors that they have a much greater respect for the patriarchal stories than was formerly common, but because the evidence warrants it."[698]
"It is beyond question that traditional and conservative views of biblical history, especially of the patriarchal period, will continue to be favored by whatever results accrue from ongoing Ebla research."[699]
|
Patriarchal Chronological Data[700] | ||
| 2296 B.C. | Birth of Terah | Gen. 11:24 |
| 2166 | Birth of Abram[701] | Gen. 11:27 |
| 2091 | Abram’s departure from Haran | Gen. 12:4 |
| 2081 | Abram’s marriage to Hagar | Gen. 16:3 |
| 2080 | Birth of Ishmael | Gen. 16:16 |
| 2067 | Reaffirmation of covenant | Gen. 17:1 |
| 2067-66 | Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah | Gen. 19:24 |
| 2066 | Birth of Isaac | Gen. 21:2-3; cf. 21:5 |
| 2029 | Death of Sarah | Gen. 23:2 |
| 2026 | Marriage of Isaac | Gen. 25:20 |
| 2006 | Birth of Jacob and Esau | Gen. 25:26 |
| 1991 | Death of Abram | Gen. 25:7 |
| 1966 | Marriage of Esau | Gen. 26:34 |
| 1943 | Death of Ishmael | Gen. 25:17 |
| 1930 | Jacob’s journey to Haran | Gen. 28:2 |
| 1923 | Jacob’s marriages | Gen. 29:23, 28; 30:4, 9 |
| 1918 | Birth of Judah | Gen. 29:35 |
| 1916 | End of Jacob’s 14 year labor for his wives | Gen. 29:30 |
| 1916 | Birth of Joseph | Gen. 30:23 |
| 1910 | End of Jacob’s stay with Laban | Gen. 31:41 |
| 1910 | Jacob’s arrival at Shechem | Gen. 33:18 |
| 1902 | Rape of Dinah | Gen. 34:1-2 |
| 1900 | Marriage of Judah | Gen. 38:1-2 |
| 1899 | Selling of Joseph | Gen. 37:2, 28 |
| 1888 | Joseph imprisoned | Gen. 39:20; cf. 41:1 |
| 1886 | Joseph released | Gen. 41:1, 46 |
| 1886 | Death of Isaac | Gen. 35:28 |
| 1879 | Beginning of famine | Gen. 41:54 |
| 1878 | Brothers’ first visit to Egypt | Gen. 42:1-3 |
| 1877 | Judah’s incest with Tamar | Gen. 38:18 |
| 1877 | Brothers’ second visit to Egypt | Gen. 43:1, 15; 45:6, 11 |
| 1876 | Jacob’s descent to Egypt | Gen. 46:6; cf. 47:9 |
| 1859 | Death of Jacob | Gen. 47:28 |
| 1806 | Death of Joseph | Gen. 50:22 |
II. PATRIARCHAL NARRATIVES 11:27—50:26
One of the significant changes in the emphasis that occurs at this point in Genesis, is from cursing, in the primeval record, to blessing, in the patriarchal narratives. The Abrahamic Covenant is most important in this respect. How Abram's family gained and provided these blessings unfolds. Israel could, and we can, identify with their experiences.
"Chapters 1—11 are set in Babylonia; chs. 12—36 are set in Palestine; chs. 37—50 are set in Egypt. (The same kind of tripartite geographical focus emerges from Exodus: 1:1—12:36, in Egypt; 12:37—18:27, to Sinai; 19:1—40:38, at Sinai.) In other words, each part of the Mediterranean world is highlighted in some part of Genesis. The crucial center section of Genesis (chs. 12—36) is bracketed geographically by two sections of the Near Eastern world with whose history that of Israel would be constantly interlocked."[702]
"In chs. 1—11 we read of individuals who had land, but are either losing it or being expelled from it. In chs. 12—50 the emphasis is on individuals who do not have land, but are on the way toward it. One group is losing; another group is expecting."[703]
"Genesis is moving us progressively from generation (chs. 1—2), to degeneration (chs. 3—11), to regeneration (chs. 12—50)."[704]
Chapters 1 through 11 present a structural pattern that continues in the rest of the Pentateuch.
"The importance of Genesis 1—11 for the rest of the Pentateuch can be seen in the fact that its narrative structure provides a pattern by which the author often shapes subsequent pentateuchal narratives. Thus the order and arrangement of the Creation accounts in Genesis 1—2 exhibit the same pattern as the description of the building of the tabernacle (Ex 25—31); the tabernacle is portrayed as a return to the Garden of Eden. The instructions given to Noah for building the ark foreshadow those given to Moses for building the tabernacle. Furthermore, one can demonstrate that whole sections of laws in the Pentateuch have been grouped and arranged in patterns that parallel the narrative structure of Genesis 1—11."[705]
"The ancient oriental background to Gen 1—11 shows it to be concerned with rather different issues from those that tend to preoccupy modern readers. It is affirming the unity of God in the face of polytheism, his justice rather than his caprice, his power as opposed to his impotence, his concern for mankind rather than his exploitation. And whereas Mesopotamia clung to the wisdom of primeval man, Genesis records his sinful disobedience. Because as Christians we tend to assume these points in our theology, we often fail to recognize the striking originality of the message of Gen 1—11 and concentrate on subsidiary points that may well be of less moment."[706]
Some notable changes take place in the second part of Genesis, though both parts begin with a creation initiated by the spoken word of God (1:1; 12:1). Instead of the genealogies being prominent and the stories secondary, as in chapters 1 through 11, the reverse becomes true now. God retreats further into the background of the events recorded than was the case earlier, and there is more emphasis on the personalities of the patriarchs. The promises to the patriarchs form the central theme of this section, specifically those concerning descendants, land, and divine blessing. There also seems to be increasing depth in the moral awareness of the patriarchs as generation follows generation from Abram to Joseph.[707]
A. What became of Terah 11:27—25:11
This is the sixth and central—and consequently the most important—of the 11 toledot sections in Genesis.
A major theme of the Pentateuch is the beginning of the fulfillment of the promises to the patriarchs. The promises in Genesis 12:1 through 3 and 7 are the fountainhead from which the rest of the Pentateuch flows.[708] Walter Kaiser labeled the three things that God promised Abram as "an heir, a heritage, and an inheritance."[709] David Clines called them "posterity, relationship with God, and land."[710] J. Dwight Pentecost and Robert L. Saucy referred to them as "seed, blessing, and land."[711]
God progressively revealed more information about each of these promises. He gave more information about the land promise in 13:15, 17; 15:7 and 8, 18; 17:8; 24:7; 26:3 and 4 (plural "lands"); 28:4, 13; 35:12; 48:4; and 50:24.
Repetition of the seed promise occurs in 13:15 and 16; 15:5; 17:2, 5 and 10, 13, 16, 19 and 20; 18:18; 21:12; 22:17 and 18; 26:3 and 4, 24; 28:13 and 14; 32:12; 35:11 and 12; 46:3; and 48:4 and 16.
"A line of successive representative sons of the patriarchs who were regarded as one with the whole group they represented matched the seminal idea already advocated in Genesis 3:15. Furthermore, in the concept of 'seed' were the two aspects of the seed as a future benefit and the seed as the present beneficiaries of God's temporal and spiritual gifts. Consequently, 'seed' was always a collective singular noun; never did it appear as a plural noun (e.g., as in 'sons'). Thereby the 'seed' was marked as a unit, yet with a flexibility of reference: now to the one person, now to the many descendants of that family. This interchange of reference with its implied corporate solidarity was more than a cultural phenomena [sic phenomenon] or an accident of careless editing; it was part and parcel of its doctrinal intention."[712]
The promise of universal blessing recurs in 18:18; 22:18 (to Abraham); 26:4 (to Isaac); and 28:14 (to Jacob). God reiterated His purpose with additional detail to Abraham in 13:14 through 17; 17:1 through 21; and 22:15 through 18; to Isaac in 26:3 through 5, 24; and to Jacob in 28:13 through 15; and 35:9 through 12 (cf. 46:1-4).
"While this promissory triad of blessing, seed, and land is the thematic cord binding the Book of Genesis, we find that the counterthemes of fratricide, violence, uncreation, and expulsion are the literary-theological foil for the promissory blessing."[713]
Genesis 12 through 50 focuses on the promise of posterity (an heir, seed), though the other promises receive much attention as well. Exodus and Leviticus deal more with the promise of worldwide influence (relationship with God, heritage, blessing), and Numbers and Deuteronomy emphasize the promise of real estate (land, inheritance, and rest).
In order to provide these blessings God had to overcome many obstacles. Each obstacle provided an opportunity for each patriarch to grow stronger in faith, and each one tested his faith (cf. James 1:2-4). Each episode in the Abraham narrative reveals something important about God's power and faithfulness. It should also teach the reader something about responding to God's promises in the midst of various difficulties. This is the plot of the Abraham narrative.
In chapters 12 through 25 the problems of possessing the land and obtaining an heir dominate the story of Abram's life. How will Abram obtain the Promised Land? Who will be Abram's promised heir? How will Abram become the promised blessing of humanity? These are the great questions that the thoughtful reader continually asks as he or she reads the story of Abram—in view of God's promises in 12:1 through 3. At least one of these questions is central in every incident in Abram's life that God has chosen to record in Genesis. These questions form the unifying theme of the Abram narrative.[714]
One writer called the form in which Moses revealed Abram's story an "obstacle story":
"Few literary techniques have enjoyed so universal and perennial a vogue as the obstacle story. It is found in ancient and modern literature from the Gilgamesh epic and the Odyssey to the Perils of Pauline and the latest novel. Its character is episodal in that it is not self-contained but finds its raison d'etre in its relation to the larger story or narrative of which it is a part. Its purpose is to arouse suspense and sustain interest by recounting episodes which threaten or retard the fulfillment of what the reader either suspects or hopes or knows to be the ending of the story."[715]
Twelve crises arise as the story of Abram's life unfolds. Each of these must be overcome—and is overcome, by God—who eventually does provide Abram's descendants. Each of these problems constituted a challenge to Abram's faith. Is God faithful and powerful enough to provide what He promised? In the end we can see that He is.
Each problem that Abram encountered is typical of problems that every believer has to deal with in seeking to live by faith in God's promises. Consequently each episode in Abram's life teaches us something about God's power and faithfulness, and it should enable us to live by faith more consistently. Moses originally recorded these lessons for Israel's benefit, so that the Israelites would imitate Abram's faith. Abram was not without his faults, and his failings prove as instructive as his successes, as is true of all biblical characters.
The following were the 12 obstacles that Abraham encountered in his faith journey:
1. Sarai was barren and incapable of producing an heir (11:30).
2. Abram had to leave the Promised Land, which God had told him he would inherit (12:10).
3. Abram's life was in danger in Egypt (12:11-20).
4. Abram's nephew Lot (his heir?) separated from Abram over a land dispute (ch. 13).
5. Abram entered a war and could have died (14:1-16).
6. Abram's life was in danger from retaliation in the Promised Land (15:1).
7. God ruled Eliezer out as Abram's heir (15:2-3).
8. Hagar, pregnant with Abram's son (his heir?), departed (16:6).
9. Abimelech threatened Sarai's reputation and child (his heir?) in Gerar (ch. 20).
10. Abram had two heirs (21:9-21).
11. God commanded Abram to kill his heir (ch. 22).
12. Abram could not find a proper wife for his heir (24:5).
"… the narrator has skillfully woven this material together in such a way as to involve the reader/listener in a drama of increasing tension between, on the one hand, the promise of Yahweh that Abram would have an heir and, indeed, would become the father of many nations, and, on the other, the threat to the fulfillment of this promise by a series of crises."[716]
1. Terah and Abram's obedience 11:27—12:9
All that Moses wrote in this pericope (11:27—12:9) deals with Abram and his future in the Promised Land. Abram obeyed the LORD's command to relocate to a land that God would give to him and his descendants with the promise that he would become a blessing to the rest of the world. Abram's example of obedience is a model for all believers to forsake all else in order to obtain the promised blessings of God and to serve Him by becoming a blessing to others.
"Within the book of Genesis no section is more significant than 11:27—12:9."[717]
Abram's background 11:27-32
11:27-28 Abram evidently grew up in the city of "Ur of the Chaldeans." A few scholars believe that the "Ur" in view was located just east of Haran, near the top of the Fertile Crescent (cf. 24:4, 7, 10).[718] However, most hold that it was the Ur in southern Mesopotamia. Since the Chaldeans later lived in southern Mesopotamia, this seems to be the correct site.
Ur was an "ancient city of the early Sumerian kingdom, located about 125 miles from the present mouth of the Euphrates, 100 miles southeast of Babylon, 830 miles from Damascus, and 550 miles from Haran. It was the capital of Sumer."[719]
"Ur is well known as an important center in the land of Sumer; it reached its zenith under the kings of the third dynasty of Ur, who around 2060-1950 B.C. revived for the last time the ancient cultural traditions of the Sumerians. [Abram was probably born about 2166 B.C.] The names of several of Abram's relatives are also the names of known cities: Terah Nahor Serug Haran and Laban the Aramean, Jacob's father-in-law, was from the city Haran in Paddan-aram. All these are places around the river Balih in northern Mesopotamia. Haran and Nahor are often mentioned in the Mari documents of the eighteenth century B.C., and cities named Tell-terah and Serug are known from later Assyrian sources."[720]
"In the ruins of Ur at about this time [ca. 2070-2060 B.C.] there are some twenty houses per acre. Assuming six to ten persons per house, there were 120 to 200 people per acre, the average figure of 160 being exactly the same as the population density of modern Damascus [in 1959]. Ur covered 150 acres, and it may therefore be estimated that the population was approximately 24,000 inhabitants."[721]
"If Abraham did come from Mesopotamia sometime in the early second millennium B.C., it is necessary to revise the picture sometimes painted of him as a primitive nomad accustomed only to open spaces of the desert, and to recognize that at least to some extent he must have been the heir of a complex and age-old civilization."[722]
A later writer may have added the reference to "the Chaldeans" in verse 28, since the Chaldeans did not enter Babylonia until about 1,000 B.C.[723] Another possibility is that there were some people knowns as Chaldeans who lived in this region when Moses wrote Genesis.
Abram's family members were polytheists (Josh. 24:2).
"Several of Abram's relations have names that suggest adherence to lunar worship (cf. Sarah, Milcah, Laban), a cult that was prominent in Ur and Harran [sic Haran]."[724]
11:29 Abram married his half-sister, Sarai, which was not contrary to God's will at this early time in history (cf. Lev. 18:9; 20:17; Deut. 27:22). Indeed, the marriage of brothers to sisters was a necessity for a time, since the human race descended from one pair of individuals (cf. 4:17). Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a family group.
11:30 Abram's wife was barren. This fact will play a major role in Abram's story.
"We find that in Abraham's society a husband could rather easily divorce his wife—but not if the marriage had produced children. This last insight, in light of Sarah's barrenness, adds another dimension to our appreciation of Abraham's faithfulness."[725]
11:31 God first called Abram to leave his home when the patriarch still lived in Ur (12:1-3; cf. 15:7; Neh. 9:7; Acts 7:2). Abram left a cultured community in Ur, not to better his life materially, but to obey God. Canaan at this time was what could be called "uncivilized."
"Likely the son [Abram] persuaded the father [Terah] to accompany him, and the father, then, according to patriarchal propriety, became the official leader of the party."[726]
"It appears that Terah, for his own reasons, decided to move from Ur to Canaan. He began the journey with several members of his family. However, they went to Haran, where Terah died. This was the first step of the journey of Abram and Sarai to the land of promise."[727]
"By recounting Abraham's call from 'Ur of the Chaldeans,' the author aims to cast the patriarch as one who came out of Babylon."[728]
"The movement between Ur and Haran becomes easy to understand when we recall that Ur was the greatest commercial capital that the world had yet seen …"[729]
"Numerous texts from archaeological research show that travel of this kind was not uncommon for the time."[730]
"There was no serious language barrier anywhere in the Fertile Crescent [in the time of the patriarchs], since West Semitic was understood everywhere and the related Accadian of Babylonia was the lingua franca, the tongue of diplomacy and business. Moreover, political and cultural ties between Egypt and Palestine continued to be close, and Egyptian was understood in all important Palestinian centres, while West Semitic was spoken in many parts of northern Egypt."[731]
God's call was pure grace; there is no evidence in this text, or elsewhere in Scripture, that God chose Abram because he merited special favor. God was continuing to form a family of faithful followers for Himself. He called Abram to leave an urban center in trust and obedience. Abram's exodus from his homeland, and Israel's Exodus from Egypt, were two key events in the formation of national Israel.
"Election is one of the central realities of the Old Testament; even though it is less frequently mentioned than the covenant it is however the initial act by which Yahweh comes into relation with his people and the permanent reality which assures the constancy of that bond. Every intervention by God in history is an election: either when he chooses a place in which to make more especial manifestation of his presence, or when he chooses a people to carry out his intention, or when he chooses a man to be his representative or his messenger, the Old Testament God is the one who has universal sovereignty at his disposal, and shows it by the free use that he makes of it."[732]
Abram's family stayed in Haran for some time, possibly because Terah was very old and in poor health. Another explanation follows:
"The difference between Terah and Abraham was one thing only: a response of faith to God's call."[733]
"It is thus that a father can muffle his son's call, impede his progress in the work of God, or, by his caution and unbelief, hold back the outworking of a divine plan in his son's life. Terah seems, as we peer back through history, to have been a man not without vision, not lacking a desire to abandon an inadequate life, or a corrupt environment, but for lack of bravery or conviction, to have fallen short of the best, and held his family back with him."[734]
"Like Nuzi, Haran was also part of the Hurrian Mitanni Empire whilst the Hurrians were at the height of their power, so that the tablets discovered at Nuzi would also reflect the way of life in Haran. In this manner, scholars have ascertained from a careful study of the Nuzi tablets that they are very helpful in explaining many of the Biblical episodes relating to the Patriarchs, which had hitherto been somewhat puzzling."[735]
"Although the Bible indicates that Abram eventually left Haran (Genesis 12:4), the Patriarchs nevertheless kept in close contact with that city. Abram sent his servant back to Aram-naharaim, the region in which Haran was situated, in order to find a wife for his son Isaac (Genesis 24:2-10). Isaac later told his younger son Jacob to flee to his uncle Laban in Haran, in order to escape the wrath of his brother Esau, whom he had tricked out of his birthright blessing (Genesis 27:43). Jacob indeed fled to Haran, subsequently marrying there his cousins Leah and Rachel (Genesis 29:1-30).[736]
"The influence of Hurrian society on the Patriarchs was undoubtedly very strong, not only because of the origins of Abram in Mesopotamia, but also because all the Patriarchs maintained contact with the area. This is borne out by the fact that many of the incidents in the Biblical narratives relating to the Patriarchs in reality reflect Hurrian social and legal customs, and prove beyond reasonable doubt that the Patriarchal way of life had its roots in Hurrian society."[737]
Archaeologists have dated the Nuzi tablets four or five hundred years after the patriarchs, but they reflect customs that had been prevalent for centuries.[738] We should be careful not to overemphasize the influence of Hurrian civilization, however.[739]
"In this period (the first part of the Middle Bronze Age [ca. 2000-1750 B.C.]) Palestine was receiving an infusion of population as semi-nomadic groups infiltrated the land …. That these newcomers were 'Amorites,' of the same Northwest-Semitic stock as those whom we have met in Mesopotamia, can scarcely be doubted. Their names, so far as these are known, point unanimously in that direction. Their mode of life is splendidly illustrated by the Tale of Sinuhe, but especially by the stories of Genesis—for it is difficult to escape the conclusion that the migration of Israel's ancestors was a part of this very movement. These people brought to Palestine no fundamental ethnic change, for they were of the same general Northwest-Semitic stock as were the Canaanites."[740]
11:32 After the patriarch Terah died, being 205 years old, Abram continued his trek toward Canaan in obedience to God's call.
Major Historical Periods of the Promised Land[741]
Stone (Neolithic) Age to ca. 4000 B.C .(?)
Copper (Chalcolithic) Age ca. 4000-3150 B.C. (?)
Early Bronze Age I 3150-2850 B.C.
Early Bronze Age II 2850-2650 B.C.
Early Bronze Age III 2650-2350 B.C.
Early Bronze Age IV 2350-2200 B.C.
Middle Bronze Age I 2200-2000 B.C.
Middle Bronze Age IIA 2000-1750 B.C.
Middle Bronze Age IIB 1750-1630 B.C.
Middle Bronze Age IIC 1630-1550 B.C.
Late Bronze Age I 1550-1400 B.C.
Late Bronze Age IIA 1400-1300 B.C.
Late Bronze Age IIB 1300-1200 B.C.
Iron Age I 1200-1000 B.C.
Iron Age II 1000-586 B.C.
Babylonian/Persian Period 586-332 B.C.
Hellenistic Period I (Ptolemaic and Seleucid) 332-152 B.C.
Hellenistic Period II (Hasmonean) 152-37 B.C.
Roman Period I (Herodian) 37 B.C.-A.D. 70
Roman Period II A.D. 70-180
Roman Period III A.D. 180-324
Byzantine Period (Christian) A.D. 324-640
Arab Period (Moslem) A.D. 640-1099
Crusader Period (Christian) A.D. 1099-1291
Mameluke Period (Moslem) A.D. 1291-1517
Turkish Period (Moslem) A.D. 1517-1917
British Mandate Period (Christian) A.D. 1917-1948
State of Israel Period (Jewish) A.D. 1948-today
God's promises and Abram's initial response 12:1-9
"These verses are of fundamental importance for the theology of Genesis, for they serve to bind together the primeval history and the later patriarchal history and look beyond it to the subsequent history of the nation."[742]
"Whereas chapters 1—11 generally portray man's rebellion, chapters 12—50 detail God's bringing man into a place of blessing."[743]
"… this is the central passage of the Book of Genesis."[744]
God's revelation to Abram in these verses explains why his family left Ur (11:31).
"… by placing the call of Abraham after the dispersion of the nations at Babylon (11:1-9), the author intends to picture Abraham's call as God's gift of salvation in the midst of judgment."[745]
"The primeval history thus explains the significance of the patriarchal story: though apparently of little consequence in the world of their day, the patriarchs are in fact men through whom the world will be redeemed. The God who revealed himself to them was no mere tribal deity but the creator of the whole universe."[746]
William Newell condensed God's revelations of Himself to Abram as follows:
"The progressive revelation of God to Abraham (Revised Version best): (a) As the LORD (Jehovah, His name as in covenant with His people), 12:1, 8; 13:4, 18. (b) God Most High (El Elyon, Creator—God Over and Owning All), 14:18-22. (c) Shield and Exceeding Great Reward, 15:1. (d) The Almighty God (El Shaddai), 17:1. (e) The Righteous Judge, 18:25. (f) The Everlasting God, 21:33. (g) The God of Providence (Jehovah Jireh), 22:14."[747]
The fourth dispensation, the dispensation of Promise, extended from Abram's call to the giving of the Mosaic Law at Mt. Sinai (Exod. 19—24). Man's stewardship rested on God's promises to Abram, which appear first in 12:1 through 3, but receive confirmation and enlargement in: 13:14 through 17; 15:1 through 7; 17:1 through 8, 15-19; 22:16 through 18; 26:2 through 5, 24; 28:13 through 15; 31:13; and 35:9 through 12. Individual blessing depended on individual obedience (12:1; 22:18; 26:5).
God unconditionally promised blessing through Abram's descendants to the nation of Israel (12:2; 15:18-21; 17:7-8), to the church through Christ (Gal. 3:16, 28-29), and to the Gentile nations (12:3). Individuals (e.g., Pharaoh, 12:17; Abimelech, 20:3, 17) and nations (e.g., Egypt, chs. 47—50; Exod. 1—15) that proved favorable toward Abram's seed would experience divine blessing, but those that proved hostile would experience divine cursing (12:3; cf. Matt. 25:31-46).
Christians are called upon to trust God as Abram did, and so enter into the spiritual blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant—which covenant inaugurated the dispensation of Promise (Rom. 4:11, 16, 23-25; Gal. 3:6-9). God's promises to Abram and his descendants did not end with the giving of the Mosaic Law (Gal. 3:17; cf. Exod. 32:13; 33:1-3; Lev. 23:10; 25:2; 26:6; Deut. 6:1-23; 8:1-18; Josh. 1:2, 11; 24:13; Acts 7:17; Rom. 9:4). However, as a test of Israel's stewardship of divine truth, the dispensation of promise was superseded, not annulled, by the dispensation of Law (Exod. 19:3-8). As the Apostle Paul put it, the Mosaic Law "was added [to the promises given to Abram] on account of the violations [of God's holiness], having been ordered through angels at the hand of a mediator [Moses], until the Seed would come to whom the promise had been made [i.e. Christ]" (Gal. 3:19).
God's word 12:1-3
12:1 This section begins with a waw disjunctive in the Hebrew text, translated "Now" in several English translations. It introduces an independent circumstantial clause (cf. 1:2). Probably the revelation in view happened in Ur. The NIV, TNIV, AV, and NKJV capture this with the translation "The Lord had said to Abram." So the beginning of chapter 12 flashes back to something that happened in Ur, even though chapter 11 ends with Abram in Haran.
Stephen's statement in Acts 7:2 supports this interpretation. Stephen quoted the Septuagint translation of this verse in Acts 7:2 and 3: "The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and He said to him, 'Go from your country and your relatives, and come to the land which I will show you.'"
"The name Yahweh, translated as LORD, is not explained until Ex. 3:14, 15. But the readers of Genesis needed to know that the one who spoke to Abram is the same Yahweh who later would form the nation of Israel and who had created all things (2:4) [and had called the Israelites out of Egypt to a new land]."[748]
"Throughout the entire story one must always remember that to leave home and to break ancestral bonds was to expect of ancient men almost the impossible."[749]
The focus of God's command was that Abram should uproot himself and follow His leading. God called him to leave three things, which were progressively more difficult: his "country," his family ("relatives"), and his "father's house." His country was his home region, his family was his clan, and his father's house was his branch of his clan. In Abram's world such a move was unheard of.
"Only the poverty-stricken or the defeated would wander; only the landless and the fugitive would move about and leave their ancestral homes."[750]
"It has been well remarked that the very essence of the history of Israel is in the words, 'Get thee out!' [AV]"[751]
"One detail we do need to note here is the conditional element in the covenant program with Abram. It was not until after the death of his father (Gen. 11:32) that Abram began to realize anything of the promise God had given to him, for only after his father's death did God take him into the land (12:4) and there reaffirm the original promise to him (12:7)."[752]
"It is important, therefore, to observe the relationship of obedience to this covenant program. Whether or not God would institute a covenant program with Abram depended on Abram's act of obedience in leaving the land. Once this act was accomplished, however, and Abram did obey God, God instituted an irrevocable, unconditional program."[753]
"… in what sense is the Abrahamic covenant unconditional? The point here, which has often been misunderstood, is that while the fulfillment of any particular generation of Israel depended on obedience to God, the ultimate possession of the land is promised unconditionally to Israel even though she does not deserve it. Scripture prophesies that a godly remnant of Israel will be the ultimate possessors of the land at the second coming (Ezek. 20:33-38)."[754]
Since God does not normally speak audibly to people today, how can we know that God is leading us to make a move? Charles Swindoll offered these possibilities:
"God may be moving you to change if you have been experiencing any of these things: An increasing uneasiness with your current situation. … A heightening curiosity regarding a new challenge. … A decreasing attachment to creature comforts and tangible securities. … A growing desire to obey God at all costs, even when you can't explain it. … An inability to turn the thought off. …"[755]
12:2-3 Abram had only a promise from God, which was also a prophecy. We see Abram's faith in his willingness to obey God based solely on the confidence that God would perform what He had promised (Heb. 11:8). This divine promise, along with the promise in verse 7, was the seed or heart of the Abrahamic Covenant, which God made shortly thereafter with Abram (ch. 15). The promise at this point included few details; it was only a general promise of descendants (v. 2) and influence (vv. 2-3).
The Hebrew text says, "be a blessing" (v. 2), not "you shall be a blessing" (v. 2). This was a command as well as a prediction ("I will bless you," v. 2). Not only would God bless Abram, but he would become a blessing to "all the families of the earth" (v. 3). God would make his life more rich and powerful, and he would enrich the lives of others.
"The missionary mandate of the church does not begin with John 3:16 or Matthew 28:18-20. It begins with God's covenant with Abraham. We are blessed that we might be a blessing."[756]
There are seven elements in this promise—seven—suggesting fullness and completeness (cf. 2:2-3): (1) God promised to create "a great nation" through Abram. (2) God promised to "bless" Abram. (3) Abram's "name" would live on after his lifetime ("I will make your name great"). (4) Abram was (commanded) to "be a blessing" to others. (5) God would "bless those who bless[ed]" Abram. (6) And God would "curse those who curs[ed]" Abram. (7) "All the families of the earth [would] be blessed" through Abram and his descendants.
"The promises that this glorious God gave to Abram fall into three categories (Gen. 12:2-3). First there were personal promises given to Abram. God said, 'I will bless you; I will make your name great.' Then there were national promises given to this childless man. 'I will make you into a great nation.' And finally there were universal promises that were to come through Abram. 'You will be a blessing and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.'"[757]
"Five times in vv 2-3 Abraham is said to be 'blessed' or a 'blessing' to others. This harks back to the first great blessing of mankind at creation (1:28) and its renewal after the flood (9:1). Moreover, Abraham is to become 'a great nation,' comparable presumably to the seventy nations listed in Gen 10. His name will also be 'great,' whereas the men of Babel who tried to make themselves 'a name' were frustrated (11:4-9)."[758]
Three components of blessing include: prosperity (13:2, 5; 14:22-23; 24:35; 26:12-13; 30:43; 32:3-21), potency or fertility (1:28; 13:16; 15:5; 22:17; 26:4; 28:3, 14; 35:11) and victory (1:22; cf. 22:17).
The Hebrew words translated "curse" in verse 3 are significant. The Hebrew word qll in "the one who curses you" really means "disdains," but the Hebrew word 'rr in "I will curse" means "curse." Even just disdain for Abraham would provoke God's judgment.
"Why is there suffering in the world? One answer is that some people and nations have chosen not to bless Abraham and his descendants."[759]
God's ultimate purpose was to bless "all the families of the earth" through Abram and his seed.[760] Abram's call and obedient response form a foundation for all that follows concerning him, his immediate descendants, and his later descendants. When God called Abram, He took a new approach to blessing the human race. These verses constitute a programmatic statement: a statement that lays out God's program concerning the future.
"Any promise God gives must be appropriated by faith."[761]
"The remarkable thing about Abraham was his deep, unwavering faith."[762]
The amillennial interpretation of this promise is that it "does not pertain today to unbelieving, ethnic 'Israel' (see Rom. 9:6-8; Gal. 3:15) but to Jesus Christ and his church (see 12:7; 13:16 and my comments on these verses; Gal. 3:16, 26-29; 6:16)."[763] This interpretation applies the promise to the spiritual seed of Abraham (Christians), but not to the physical seed (Jews). But there is no reason for accepting this more unnatural explanation. Abraham understood the promise as applying to his physical descendants, and later revelation encourages us to understand it this way too. This prophecy has been partially fulfilled, and it will be entirely fulfilled, literally.[764]
God repeated His promise to Abraham five times in Genesis: 12:2 and 3, 13:14 through 17; 15:1 through 21; 17:1 through 22; and 22:15 through 18.
The following table lists all of God's revelations to the four patriarchs in Genesis 12 through 50. Whenever God spoke to them what He said was significant.
|
Revelations to the Patriarchs
| |||
| Abraham | Isaac | Jacob | Joseph |
| Gen. 12:1-3 | Gen. 26:2-5 | Gen. 28:12-15 | Gen. 37:5-7 |
| Gen. 12:7 | Gen. 26:24 | Gen. 31:3 | Gen. 37:9 |
| Gen. 13:14-17 |
| Gen. 31:11-13 |
|
| Gen. 15 |
| Gen. 32:24-29 |
|
| Gen. 17:1-21 |
| Gen. 35:1 |
|
| Gen. 18 |
| Gen. 35:9-12 |
|
| Gen. 21:12-13 |
| Gen. 46:2-4 |
|
| Gen. 22:1-2 |
|
|
|
| Gen. 22:15-18 |
|
|
|
Abram's response 12:4-9
12:4 Since Lot voluntarily chose to accompany Abram, he probably believed the promises as well (cf. Ruth and Naomi). Abram's call had been to separate from his pagan relatives, so I do not think that he was being disobedient by allowing Lot to accompany him.[765] Not only Lot, but Sarai and "the people which they had acquired in Haran" went with Abram (v. 5).
Probably Abram viewed Lot as his heir, since he had no children (cf. 11:27-32; 12:4-5; 13:1-2).
"Since Mesopotamian law-codes allowed for the adoption of an heir in the case of childlessness, this becomes an attractive hypothesis with respect to Lot."[766]
Abram lived 75 years with his father, then 25 years without his father or a son, and then 75 more years with his son Isaac.
12:5-6 Abram's first settlement was in Shechem, which was about 40 miles north of Salem (later called Jerusalem).
"… towns on the main caravan route southwestward from the Euphrates which figure significantly in the Abram stories, are Shechem, Bethel, Hebron, and Gerar."[767]
Shechem became sacred to the Israelites because it was there that God revealed Himself to Abram, for the first time, in the Promised Land. This was God's second major revelation to Abram, the first being while Abram was in Ur. At Shechem Jacob later bought land, set up his home, and buried his idols in an act of rededication to Yahweh, after returning from his sojourn in Paddan-aram (33:18-20; 35:4). Here too the Israelites assembled twice when they had taken possession of Canaan under Joshua's leadership, in order to commemorate God's faithfulness in giving them the land that He had promised their forefathers (Josh. 8; 24). Shechem was near the geographic center of Canaan (cf. Josh. 20:7). It lay in the heart of the land that God now promised Abram.[768] "Moreh" (v. 6) means "teacher," so "the oak of Moreh" may have been a pagan site for oracles (supposed divine revelations).
"Here Abraham began symbolically taking possession of the land that would one day be the territory of the Great Teacher and His instruction."[769]
The reference to the Canaanites' presence in the land prepares the reader for incidents of conflict with these native inhabitants that followed in Israel's history (cf. 10:15-19). It also denotes a barrier to the fulfillment of God's promise to give Abram and his heirs the land (v. 7). Abram could not take possession of the Promised Land immediately, because the Canaanites occupied it.
12:7 In response to God's promise to give Abram the land where he stood ("this land"), the patriarch "built an altar" and worshipped Yahweh. This was Abram's characteristic response to God's grace. Abram's altars were more permanent structures than his tents. He continued living as a pilgrim and stranger in a land that he did not yet possess (Heb. 11:9-10).
"They [the Jews] have never really occupied the land God gave to them. At the zenith of their power, they occupied 30,000 square miles, but that is not all that God gave them. Actually, He gave them 300,000 square miles. They have a long way to go, but they will have to get it on God's terms and in God's appointed time."[770]
Critics of the historicity of the patriarchal narratives have tried to prove that the religion of the patriarchs differed greatly from Mosaic orthodoxy—and even Christian norms. While there were some differences, there is no solid evidence that the patriarchs worshipped a different God than subsequent Israelites worshipped.[771] Of course, the Israelites also worshipped idols.
"If anything becomes more fundamental than God to your happiness, meaning in life, and identity, then it is an idol."[772]
12:8 Abram proceeded south and encamped ("pitched his tent") between Bethel and Ai (lit. "Ruin," probably "et Tell"[773]). This site is about 10 miles north of Salem (Jerusalem). Again Abram "built an altar" to worship Yahweh, and "called upon the name of the LORD" in worship (cf. 4:26).
12:9 Abram next continued south "toward the Negev" (lit. "dry," a transliteration of the Hebrew word for "south"). He may have done this because of a shortage of food for his grazing animals (v. 10). This is the most common reason that nomads move from place to place.
Many years later, in Moses' day, the nation of Israel shared the same call that God had extended to Abram. She was to leave her place of residence, Egypt, and go to a Promised Land to worship and serve God there with the promise of blessing. This required faith. Believers today have a similar calling. Believers who walk by faith will forsake much to become part of God's program to bless the world.
"Departure from securities is the only way out of barrenness."[774]
2. Abram in Egypt 12:10-20
How was God going to fulfill His promises to Abram? The second challenge to Abram's faith—the first being Sarai's barrenness (11:30)—arose because of a famine in Canaan. Abram chose to live temporarily in the Nile Valley in Egypt until the famine ended. In this incident Abram misrepresented Sarai because he feared for his life ("they will kill me," v. 12).[775] By doing so he jeopardized his blessing, because he lost his wife temporarily to Pharaoh ("the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house," v. 15). But Yahweh intervened to deliver Abram and Sarai from Egypt.
"God knows what kind of faith we have, but we don't know; and the only way to advance in the 'school of faith' is to take examinations. Like Abraham, as you progress in the 'school of faith,' you will face three special tests: circumstances (Gen. 12:10), people (12:11-13:4), and things (13:5-18)."[776]
"The account of Abraham's 'sojourn' in Egypt bears the stamp of having been intentionally shaped to parallel the later account of God's deliverance of Israel from Egypt (Gen 41—Exod 12). Both passages have a similar message as well. Thus, here, at the beginning of the narratives dealing with Abraham and his seed, we find an anticipation of the events that will occur at the end. Behind the pattern stands a faithful, loving God. What he has done with Abraham, he will do for his people today and tomorrow."[777]
12:10 Though Bible students debate the point, I believe that Abram rushed ahead of God by going to Egypt without a divine revelation that he should do so.[778] God blessed Abram in Egypt, ironically mainly because of Sarai, in spite of Abram's lack of faith, and then returned him to the Promised Land. Nevertheless, what Abram acquired in Egypt (great wealth and servants, probably including Hagar) proved to be problems later. Another severe famine even later encouraged Jacob and his family to sojourn in Egypt (47:4), but God gave Jacob permission to go (46:2-4). It was evidently fear rather than faith that made Abram leave the Promised Land.
"Throughout Gen. 12—50 Egypt is a symbol of safety and provision for the patriarchs and their families. If anything, Egypt is the oppressed in Genesis. Note that it is Sarai who 'dealt harshly' with her Egyptian maidservant, forcing her 'to flee' (16:6). Later she urges her husband to 'cast out' this Egyptian."[779]
12:11-13 Some commentators have concluded that in dealing with Sarai as he did, Abram was relying on a custom of the land from which he had come (i.e., Babylonia) to protect him. They suggest that this custom was evidently unknown in Egypt. Because he failed to perceive this, Abram got into trouble.
"The thrice repeated story [involving Abraham in 12:10-20 and 20:1-18, and Isaac in 26:6-12] has been the subject of much discussion by commentators through the ages, but only with the discoveries at Nuzi has it become clear that Abraham and Isaac were not involved in any trickery, but were endeavoring to protect their respective wives from molestation by invoking the Hurrian custom or law of wife-sistership. According to the Nuzi tablets a woman having the status of wife-sister rather than that of just an ordinary wife, enjoyed superior privileges and was better protected. The status was a purely legal one, a wife-sister being quite distinct from the physical relationship usually understood by the word 'sister.' In order to create the status of wife-sistership two documents were prepared—one for marriage and the other for sistership. Thus, we find a Nuzi tablet, according to which a person by the name of Akkuleni, son of Akiya, contracted with one Hurazzi, son of Eggaya, to give to Hurazzi in marriage his sister Beltakkadummi. Another tablet records that the same Akkuleni sold his sister Beltakkadummi as sister to the same Hurazzi. If such a marriage was violated, the punishment was much more severe than in the case of a straightforward ordinary marriage. It would appear that the actions of Abraham and Isaac reflect this custom."[780]
In the Hurrian culture from which Abram came (in Haran), people evidently viewed the husband/wife-sister relationship as even more sacred than the husband/wife relationship. According to this view, when Abram went to Egypt, he assumed that the Egyptians also regarded the husband/wife-sister relationship as more sacred than the husband/wife relationship. Therefore he presented Sarai as his wife-sister, and expected that the Egyptians would not interfere with his relationship with Sarai.[781] However, proponents of this view assume the husband/wife-sister relationship was foreign to Pharaoh, who took Sarai because he believed that she was just Abram's physical sister. When Pharaoh discovered that Sarai was also Abram's wife, he returned Sarai to Abram, because Pharaoh regarded the husband/wife relationship as sacred. He was angry with Abram, because in Pharaoh's eyes, Abram had misrepresented his relationship with Sarai.
Those who hold this view see this incident as an example of failure to adjust to a foreign culture and failure to trust God. They usually understand Abram's motivation as having been confidence in a cultural custom from his past, rather than faith in God.[782]
Most interpreters have concluded that Abram, on the other hand, was being rather dishonest about his relationship with Sarai, and was telling a half-truth to save his own life (cf. 20:12). Evidently it was possible for brothers to fend off suitors of their sisters with promises of marriage—without eventually giving them away (cf. 24:55; 34:13-17). Archaeologists have discovered "a papyrus document which tells that Pharaoh had a beautiful woman brought to his court and caused her husband to be murdered."[783]
"When you find yourself scheming in order to escape problems with people, beware; worse trouble is coming!"[784]
How would God fulfill His promises if Abram died now? The fact that Abram's life was in danger was the third challenge to his faith in God's promises. Abram's fears were understandable.
12:14-16 Pharaoh did take Sarai into his harem. Pharaoh not only took Sarai into his harem, but he also "treated Abram well for her sake" (v. 16) and gave him many animals as well as male and female servants.
The Pharaoh (lit. "Great House") that Abram dealt with in Egypt was probably Inyotef II (2117-2069 B.C.). He was a ruler of the eleventh dynasty, Middle Kingdom period. His capital was in Memphis, which was very near modern Cairo.
Identifications of Significant Pharaohs in the Genesis Period[785]
Prehistory (to ca. 3100 B.C.)
Early Dynasties (dynasties 1-2; ca. 3100-2686 B.C.)
Menes (first Pharaoh) He united upper and lower Egypt.
Old Kingdom (dynasties 3-6; ca. 2686-2181 B.C.) Capital: Memphis (the Greek name); Noph (the Egyptian name). A period of absolute power. The age of pyramid building. (Archaeologists have identified almost 80 pyramids.)
Djoser (Zoser; 2nd Pharaoh of 3rd dynasty) Zoser built the first stepped pyramid (south of Cairo).
Cheops (Khufu; 2nd Pharaoh of 4th dynasty) Khufu built the Great (largest) Pyramid at Gizeh (near Cairo).
Chephren (Khafre; 4th Pharaoh of 4th dynasty) Khafre built the still capped pyramid near the Sphinx (near Cairo).
First intermediate Period (dynasties 7-10; ca. 2181-2040 B.C.) Capital: Thebes (Greek name): No (Egyptian name)
Middle Kingdom (dynasties 11-14; ca. 2033-1603 B.C.) Capital: Memphis/ Noph. A period of culture and civilization.
Inyotef II (2117-2069 B.C.; 3rd Pharaoh of 11th dynasty) He entertained Abram (Gen. 12:15).
Ammenemes II (1929-1895 B.C.; 3rd Pharaoh of 12th dynasty) He ruled when Joseph arrived in Egypt (Gen. 37:36).
Sesostris II (1897-1878 B.C.; 4th Pharaoh of 12th dynasty) He had his dreams interpreted by Joseph and exalted Joseph (Gen. 40:2; 41:1, 14-45).
Sesostris III (1878-1843 B.C.; 5th Pharaoh of 12th dynasty) He ruled when Jacob entered Egypt and received a blessing from Jacob (Gen. 46:31; 47:10).
Ammenemes III (1842-1797 B.C.; 6th Pharaoh of 12th dynasty) He ruled when Joseph died (Gen. 50:26).
The first reference to camels in Scripture occurs in verse 16. For many years, scholars believed that the ancients did not domesticate camels until much later than the patriarchal period. They believed that references to camels in Genesis indicated historical inaccuracies. But the archaeological evidence for the early domestication of camels has proven these critics wrong.[786] The Hebrew word translated "camel" does not distinguish whether these were one- or two-humped camels.
"They represented great wealth; to have a camel in this period was like having an expensive limousine."[787]
12:17-20 In spite of Abram's weak faith, God intervened supernaturally and struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because he had taken Sarai. Somehow Pharaoh connected his troubles with Sarai. He summoned Abram into his presence and demanded why Abram had misrepresented his relationship to his wife. Pharaoh returned Sarai to Abram and sent them away—definitely away from his presence and probably away from the land of Egypt (cf. 13:1). So God, using Pharaoh, reunited Abram with Sarai and returned them to the Promised Land, albeit by deportation.[788]
Abram's fear for his physical safety in a strange land led him to take an initiative that was not God's will. He should have told the truth and continued to trust God. Yet even in his disobedience and lack of faith, God blessed Abram (v. 16) and preserved him (v. 20), because of His promises (12:1-3).
"One cannot miss the deliberate parallelism between this sojourn of Abram in Egypt and the later event in the life of the nation in bondage in Egypt. The motifs are remarkably similar: the famine in the land (12:10; 47:13), the descent to Egypt to sojourn (12:10; 47:27), the attempt to kill the males but save the females (12:12; Ex. 1:22), the plagues on Egypt (Gen. 12:17; Ex. 7:14—11:10), the spoiling of Egypt (Gen. 12:16; Ex. 12:35-36), the deliverance (Gen. 12:19; Ex. 15), and the ascent to the Negev (Gen. 13:1; Num. 13:17, 22). The great deliverance out of bondage that Israel experienced was thus already accomplished in her ancestor, and probably was a source of comfort and encouragement to them."[789]
We sometimes feel tempted to fear for our welfare, especially in a foreign environment. This fear sometimes leads us to seize the initiative and disobey God, rather than trusting Him. But we can count on God to fulfill His promises to us, in spite of threatening circumstances. We should therefore remain faithful and honest.
"In times of testing, the important question is not, 'How can I get out of this?' but, 'What can I get out of this?' (See James 1:1-12). God is at work to build your faith."[790]
"The integrity and honesty of a child of God are among his most potent weapons in spreading the gospel."[791]
God will protect His plan, even when His people complicate it with deception. Consequently believers should not try to deliver themselves from threatening situations by deceptive schemes but should continue to trust and obey God.
"Here Abram's failure in the face of hostility, like Israel's sinfulness in the wilderness, is surely recorded as a warning for later generations (cf. 1 Cor 10:11) and as an illustration of the invincibility of the divine promises (cf. Rom 11:29)."[792]
This is the first of many fulfillments of God's promise to bless those who blessed Abram, and to curse those who cursed him (12:3).
|
Synoptic Chronology of the Ancient Near East[793] | ||||
| Dates | Periods | Ancient Near East | Canaan | Scripture |
| 3150-2200 B.C. | Early Bronze Age (Early Canaanite) | Egypt: Old Kingdom (pyramid builders). Mesopotamia: Sumer and Akkad. | No written records until the Ebla tablets. Excavations show rich and powerful city-states. | Genesis 5—11 |
| 2200-1500 B.C. | Middle Bronze Age (Middle Canaanite) | Egypt: Middle Kingdom. Amorites (Hyksos) control Egypt and Canaan. | Amorites and Hebrew patriarchs in Canaan and Egypt | Genesis 12—50 |
| 1500-1200 B.C. | Late Bronze (Late Canaanite) | Egypt expels the Amorites and controls Canaan. | Egyptians, Canaanites (El Amarna Age). Conquest by Joshua. Early Judges, Philistines, Midianites, Ammonites, Moabites, etc. | Exodus—Judges |
| 1200-930 | Iron Age I (Israelite I) | Egyptian influence weakening. Syrian and Assyrian influence not yet developed. | Later Judges, Samuel, Saul, David, Solomon. | Judges—1 Kings |
| 930-586 | Iron Age II (Israelite II) | Egypt weak, but Shishak attacks Canaan after Solomon’s death. Syria (Aram) develops into serious rival for Israel. | Divided Kingdom | 1 Kings—2 Kings |
3. Abram's separation from Lot ch. 13
Chapters 13 through 19 have been called "the Lot narratives."[794]
This chapter records how Abram, though challenged by a major conflict with Lot, due to strife between their herdsmen, magnanimously gave his nephew a choice of whichever portion of the Promised Land he wanted. Lot took an area that was very fertile, though inhabited by wicked people. In return, God blessed Abram with a reaffirmation of His promise.
This was the fourth crisis that Abram faced. Lot was Abram's nephew and so the most likely relative to succeed childless Abram. When Lot separated from Abram over a land dispute it must have seemed like Abram was losing his heir. If he lost his heir, how could God fulfill His promises?
13:1 Abram returned from Egypt to the Negev (the southern region of Canaan). Though Lot is not mentioned as being in Egypt with Abram and Sarai, we now learn that he was.
"Of special interest is that in Genesis 12:10—13:4 Lot occupies the same position as that of the 'mixed multitude' (Ex 12:38) in the narrative of Genesis 41—Exodus 12. In other words the author apparently wants to draw the reader's attention to the identification of Lot with the 'mixed multitude.' It is as if Lot is seen in these narratives as the prefiguration of the 'mixed multitude' that comes out of Egypt with the Israelites."[795]
13:2 Abram by this time had become "very rich" (v. 2; cf. 12:16).
"He was very heavy, so the Hebrew word signifies; for riches are a burden. There is a burden of care in getting them, fear in keeping them, temptation in using them, guilt in abusing them, sorrow in losing them, and a burden to account, at last, to be given up concerning them."[796]
13:3-4 Abram and his entourage (companions) proceeded north and settled down near his former location between Bethel and Ai. There he proceeded to worship the LORD (cf. 4:25; 12:8). Note the mention of his altar there. The altar that he had previous built was still standing, and Abram's return to it hints at his return to fellowship with God.
Note also Lot's similarity to Esau in that both men chose what pleased them (v. 10; cf. 25:29-34).
13:5-7 Lot also had "flocks, herds, and tents" (v. 5). When it became clear that there was not enough pasture to sustain all the flocks of both Abram and Lot ("the land could not support both of them … for their possessions were so great," v. 6), fighting broke out between the herdsmen of Lot and Abram.
"Riches are often an occasion of strife and contention."[797]
Moses' mention of the Canaanites and Perizzites living in the land gives context to the situation in which Abram and Lot lived at this time. These were descendants of Ham who, we learned earlier, were cursed by God (9:25).
"… the Tale of Sinuhe of the twentieth century [B.C.] depicts persons like Abraham moving freely about in the Canaanite region with large flocks and herds in a semi-nomadic type of existence."[798]
13:8-9 Abram gave his nephew the choice of where he wanted to settle. This was a magnanimous gesture on Abram's part. If he was older than Lot, which seems probable, it shows even greater graciousness. Furthermore, God had called Abram into the Promised Land and promised it to him, not Lot.
In offering Lot either the "left" or the "right" Abram was evidently suggesting that he and Lot partition the Promised Land into two halves; he would take one half and his nephew the other (cf. 22:3-10). Important to our appreciation of Abram's offer is knowledge of the fact that the Hebrews, as well as other ancient peoples, were eastern-oriented (as contrasted with being northern-oriented, as we are). Abram and Lot were probably looking east when Abram made his suggestion.
13:10 Thus "Lot raised his eyes and saw all the vicinity of the Jordan," which was to the east of where they stood. Perhaps they were standing on Mt. Asor, the highest point in that part of Canaan and only a short walk from both Bethel and Ai. So when Abram offered Lot what was on his left, he was referring to northern Canaan, including the area around Shechem (cf. 12:6; 33:18—34:31; 37:12-17), going as far south as Bethel and Ai. The other choice was what was on their right: southern Canaan, including Hebron and the Negev (cf. 13:6, 9; 13:1, 18; 20:1; et al.). Both men had previously lived in both regions.
Moses' description of the Jordan Valley as being similar to Egypt ("like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt") should have warned the Israelite readers of Genesis against desiring to return to Egypt (cf. Exod. 16:3; Num. 11:5; 14:2-3).
13:11 Lot, however, chose neither of the options that Abram had offered: north ("left") or south ("right"). Instead he decided to move "east" into the Jordan Valley (v. 11). Earlier we read that Adam, Eve, and Cain traveled east after they sinned (3:24; 4:16), and that the people of Babel went east and rebelled against God (11:2). Thus Lot's move east makes us a bit uneasy (cf. 12:3), as does Moses' reference to Sodom and Gomorrah being nearby (vv. 10, 12). Was this a bad choice? As things turned out, it was.
At that time the Jordan River was the eastern border of Canaan, and the border continued going south from the southeastern end of the Salt Sea (what we now call the Dead Sea) and southwest toward Kadesh (lit. "cultic shrine") Barnea (10:19). It then proceeded to the Great Sea (which we call the Mediterranean Sea) along the Wadi el Arish ("Brook of Egypt"; cf. Num. 34:1-12; Josh. 15:1-12).
13:12 The text contrasts "the land of Canaan" where Abram settled, with "the cities of the vicinity of the Jordan," where Lot settled. The place Lot chose to settle was on the eastern frontier, along the edges of the border of the Promised Land (v. 11).
The location of Sodom is still uncertain. There are three primary possibilities: northeast of the Dead Sea,[799] southeast of the Dead Sea, or under the southeastern portion of the Dead Sea. The second option seems most probable.
"… this choice by Lot made rather final the rupture between him and Abram."[800]
Lot's choice erected another hurdle for Abram's faith in the promises of God, and it precipitated another crisis in the "obstacle story" of how God would fulfill His promises to Abram: Lot chose the Jordan Valley.
"Due to the combination of water (emerging from underground springs fed by the limestone hills farther west [of Jericho]), soil (deposited on the plain from the same hills) and climate (warm and sunny during most of the year), the region is known for all types of agricultural products, especially dates and balsam (used in ancient ointments). … It is not surprising that Lot, who with Abraham had lived for a short time in the lush Nile Valley of Egypt [chose as he did] … His choice appears to have been made from the mountains northeast of Bethel, with a view of the Jericho oasis or the Plains of Moab."[801]
13:13 Lot's choice seems to have been influenced, to some extent, by a desire to ally himself with the native inhabitants (cf. 13:7, 12; 19:1-26), as well as by the natural fruitfulness of the Jordan Valley.
"In any given situation, what you are determines what you see, and what you see determines what you do."[802]
"The eyes see what the heart loves."[803]
"The close parallels between the two [cities, i.e., Babylon and Sodom] which are created in the narrative of chapter 13 suggest that the author intends both cities to tell the same story. As in the case of parallels and repetitions throughout the book, the double account of God's destruction of the 'city in the east' is intended to drive home the point that God's judgment of the wicked is certain and imminent (cf. 41:32)."[804]
13:14-16 Abram was now without an heir. However Yahweh appeared to him at this crucial time and reconfirmed the promise of land that, He said, He would give to Abram's offspring.
Abram "raised his eyes" (v. 10) too (v. 14), but he saw the whole land—as far as he could see in every direction ("northward and southward and eastward and westward"). God repeated His promise to give him and his descendants all the land he saw. This promise was more specific than God's previous promises regarding the seed and the land (12:2, 7). This was God's third revelation to Abram. It contained three specifics:
1. Abram's heir would be his own seed (offspring; vv. 15-16). Lot was his nephew, the son of Haran, Abram's brother (11:27).
2. God would give the land to Abram and his descendants forever (v. 15). Interpreters who believe that the Jews permanently forfeited the land by rejecting their Messiah sometimes translate "forever" (Heb. 'adh 'olam) "a long time."[805]
3. Abram's descendants would be innumerable (v. 16).
The figure of "dust" (v. 16) suggests physical seed (cf. 2:7), and is hyperbole (overstatement not meant to be taken literally). The meaning is that Abram's descendants would be as innumerable as the dust. The "stars" figure, given later (15:5), suggests heavenly or spiritual seed (cf. 1:14-16), in addition to physical seed, and is also hyperbole.
13:17 God's encouragement to walk through the land implied that Abram should claim the promise by treading the land under his feet. In the ancient Near East victorious armies claimed defeated territory by marching through it and literally treading it under their feet.
"The divine promise of land and other blessings (Gen. 12:1-3; 15:18-21; 17:1-8) is in the form of a covenant known technically in ancient Near Eastern studies as a 'covenant of grant.' It was made at the initiative of the granter and often with no preconditions or qualifications."[806]
13:18 Abram later relocated his encampment near Hebron, where he built another altar and worshipped again (cf. 12:7; 13:4). Hebron is the highest town in the Promised Land, with an elevation of about 3,000 feet. Its site is strategic, lying midway between Jerusalem and Beersheba, about 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem.
Sailhamer saw Lot as a prefiguration of the rabble that came out of Egypt with the Israelites.[807] Many of the commentators have seen two types of believers in Abram and Lot. One commits himself completely to trusting and obeying God, though not without occasional lapses in his faith. The other wants both what God and what the world can give. These correspond to a spiritual and a carnal believer, or a single-minded and a double-minded believer (James 1:8; 4:8). When Abram gave Lot the choice of where he wanted to live, Abram was giving up any claim to temporal advantages, and he was trusting God to bless him as God had promised He would. This step of faith led to greater blessing by God (vv. 14-17). Abram's response to this fresh revelation, again, was worship ("he built an altar to the LORD," v. 18).
People who truly believe God's promises of provision can be generous with their possessions, as Abram was.
4. Abram's military victory ch. 14
Sometime later a powerful coalition of kings from Mesopotamia invaded Canaan and, in the process, took Lot captive. Abram retaliated with a surprise attack at night and recovered Lot and the possessions those kings had taken. Upon his return to his home, Abram received a blessing from Melchizedek, the king of Salem, and he received an offer of reward by the king of Sodom: Bera. Abram declined to accept the reward, because he did not want people to conclude that Bera, rather than Yahweh, had blessed him. Abram's acknowledgment that victory and possessions come from God alone enabled him to avoid the danger of accepting gifts from the wicked, and to wait for God to provide what He had promised. In this chapter we see a much different Abram from the coward who endangered his wife in Egypt (ch. 12).
Abram's war with four kings 14:1-16
The significance of this literary unit is that it describes two more challenges to God's faithfulness and Abram's faith. So far Abram had to contend with several barriers to God fulfilling His promises to him. His wife was barren, he had to leave the land, his life was in danger, and his anticipated heir showed no interest in the Promised Land. Now he became involved in a war and consequently became the target of retaliation by four powerful kings.
14:1-2 The four kings mentioned in verse 1 resided in the eastern part of the Fertile Crescent. They sought to dominate the land of Canaan by subjugating five kings who lived there. They probably wanted to keep the trade routes between Mesopotamia and Egypt open and under their control. It is interesting that people living around Babylon initiated this first "war" mentioned in the Bible (v. 2).
"Inscriptions found in recent years have shown that the names of the Mesopotamian kings may in some cases be identified with names of persons already known from the [archaeological] discoveries, and that, in any case, they fit into the pattern of Babylonian names."[808]
14:3-7 This war was the result of the five kings who lived in and around the Promised Land rebelling against Chedorlaomer, the king of Elam, whom they had served for 12 years. Scholars have debated the identity of the "Rephaim" (v. 5; cf. 15:20; literally "ghosts" or "spirits of the dead"), whom Chedorlaomer and his coalition of kings defeated. Some believe they were gods, others that they were the deified dead, and still others the promoters of fertility.[809] Most likely they were one of the early tribal groups that inhabited Canaan when Abram entered the land. They appear to have been very powerful, and apparently some of their neighbors regarded them as super-human, before and/or after their heyday.[810] The four Mesopotamian kings subjugated the rulers of a large area in the southwest Fertile Crescent.
14:8-10 The scene of the battle of the nine kings was the Valley of Siddim (vv. 3, 8). This valley probably lay in the southern part of the modern Dead Sea, south of the Lissan Peninsula. The Old Testament calls this body of water the "Salt Sea," because its average 32 percent saline content is about ten times more than the oceans' 3 percent average. Josephus referred to it as Lake Asphaltitis.[811] Apparently the "tar pits" (v. 10) that the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fell into contained asphalt. "The hill country" to which the survivors fled probably refers to the higher ground that surrounded the Salt Sea.
14:11-12 The Mesopotamian kings took "all the possessions" of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, including "their food supply," as booty and departed for home. They also took some of the people who lived in these towns, including Lot.
14:13 One of the survivors of the battle came and told Abram what had happened and that Lot had been taken prisoner.
Some scholars have suggested that Abram's designation as "the Hebrew" (v. 13) marked him as a resident alien, rather than a semi-nomad. As such he would have taken steps to take possession of the land God had promised him.[812] He could have been both a resident alien and a semi-nomad.[813] Albright argued that he was a "donkeyman, donkey driver, caravaneer."[814]
"In the eighteenth century B.C. the ass was the chief beast of burden."[815]
However, most conservative interpreters have concluded that Abram was a semi-nomadic shepherd.[816] The term "Hebrew," occurring here for the first time in the Bible, is primarily an ethnic designation in the Old Testament.[817] Usually people other than Hebrews used this term to describe Abram's ethnic group. "Hebrew" comes from the name "Eber" (cf. 10:21), and is related to a verb meaning "cross over" or "pass through." Abram "crossed over" or "passed through" from another place in order to obey the LORD's command.[818]
Abram was living by "the oaks of Mamre" at this time, which were in the vicinity of Hebron (13:18). "Mamre," Eshcol," and "Aner" were brothers with whom Abram had an alliance.
14:14 The fact that Abram could muster 318 "trained men" who had been "born in his house" shows the great wealth and influence that he possessed at this time. God was already blessing him greatly. Abram led his small army in pursuit of the Mesopotamian kings all the way north to Dan.
"The appearance of the later name 'Dan' is a post-Mosaic updating of the place name for later readers."[819]
Another explanation is that the Dan referred to here was Dan-jaan (2 Sam. 24:6, and possibly Deut. 34:1) in Gilead.[820] In either case, Abram and his "trained men" travelled quite a way north in order to recover Lot.
14:15-16 Abram had some ability as a military strategist, as is clear from how he routed the Mesopotamians. Not content to simply defeat them, he pursued them "as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus," as they fled back home. He brought back to their home territory the people who had been captured and their possessions, including Lot and his possessions.
Abram could have lost his possessions and his life by getting involved in war with the Mesopotamian kings. He definitely set himself up as a target for retaliation. Almost everyone in the ancient Near East practiced retaliation, and it is still a major factor in the continuing political turmoil that characterizes the Middle East to this day.[821] People did not forgive and forget. They harbored resentment for acts committed against their ancestors or themselves for generations, and they took revenge when they thought they could succeed.
Why was Abram willing to take such risks? He probably believed that he could win. His love for Lot may have been the primary factor. His attitude was not: "He's made his own bed; let him lie in it." Perhaps Abram hoped that Lot had learned his lesson, living like a stranger in Sodom, and that he would return to him. Unfortunately Lot had not learned his lesson but returned to Sodom soon after his release as a prisoner of war. Undoubtedly Abram also went to war because he had confidence in God's promises to him (12:2-3, 7).
"We have here a prelude of the future assault of the worldly power upon the kingdom of God established in Canaan; and the importance of this event to sacred history consists in the fact, that the kings of the valley of Jordan and the surrounding country submitted to the worldly power, whilst Abram, on the contrary, with his home-born servants, smote the conquerors and rescued their booty,—a prophetic sign that in the conflict with the power of the world the seed of Abram would not only not be subdued, but would be able to rescue from destruction those who appealed to it for aid."[822]
The situation that Abram faced, taking his 318 men and going into battle against an alliance of four armies, was similar to the one Gideon faced in leading 300 men against 135,000 Midianites (Judg. 7:6; 8:10). The lesson of both passages is the same: God is able to give a trusting and obedient minority victory over ungodly forces that are overwhelmingly superior in numbers.
Abram's meeting with two kings 14:17-24
This section records an important decision that Abram had to make after he returned victoriously from his battle with the Mesopotamian kings.
14:17 The "valley of Shaveh" was near the city that later became Jerusalem (the "Salem" of verse 18). It may have been the Kidron (or "Black") Valley, immediately east of the city, or some other valley not far away.[823]
14:18 "Melchizedek" was probably a title rather than a proper name. The word means "King of Righteousness" or "My King is Righteous" (cf. "Adonizedek," "Lord of Righteousness," (Josh. 10:1, 3). However theophoric names (names bearing the name of a god) were common in the ancient Near East. So his name may have meant "My King is Sedeq" or "Milku is Righteous," Sedeq and Milku presumably being the names of gods.[824] The names of both the kings of Sodom ("Bera") and Gomorrah ("Birsha," v. 2) are compounds of a Hebrew word translated "evil" (cf. 13:13).
"The Rabbis have a curious conceit about the origin of the name Jerusalem, which is commonly taken to mean, 'the foundation,' 'the abode,' or 'the inheritance of peace.' They make it a compound of Jireh and Shalem, and say that Abraham called it 'Jehovah-Jireh,' while Shem had named it Shalem, but that God combined the two into Jireh-Shalem, Jerushalaim, or Jerusalem. (Ber[akot]. R[abbah].)"[825]
14:18 Bread and wine were the royal food and drink of the day. Many writers have commented on their typical significance, though there is no basis for connecting them directly with the elements used in the Lord's Supper. Many ancient Near Easterners used bread and wine in making covenants.[826] Melchizedek, the first priest mentioned in the Bible, evidently gave a royal banquet in Abram's honor. In view of their characters and geographical proximity, Abram and Melchizedek may have been friends before this meeting. Melchizedek may have been Abram's king to whom the patriarch was expected to discharge an obligation.[827]
The "God" whom Melchizedek worshipped as a priest was the true God, known to him as "El Elyon," meaning "God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth" (i.e., the Creator). This title reveals the sovereign power of God over the nations. Both Melchizedek and Abram regarded Abram's recent victory in battle as due to the blessing of El Elyon (cf. v. 22). This shows that both of them worshipped the true, living God.
14:19-20 Melchizedek "blessed" Abram, and so set himself up for God's blessing (cf. 12:3). He also blessed (praised) God for handing Abram's enemies over to him. Melchizedek believed that the Most High God controlled the affairs of people: that He is sovereign.
People commonly practiced tithing as an act of worship in the ancient Near East at this time (cf. 28:22).[828] It was also a common tax. This is still true in some modern countries. For example, in England part of every person's taxes goes to maintain the Church of England. Some residents regard this part of their tax as their contribution to the church or their tithe. However, since Melchizedek gave Abram a priestly blessing, it is likely that Abram reciprocated by giving Melchizedek a gift with priestly connotations.[829] In some cases, people gave tithes to those whom they regarded as superiors, as a sign of their respect.[830] "Everything" probably refers to all that Abram took in the battle rather than all that was in his possession (cf. vv. 23-24; Heb. 7:4).
14:21-24 Abram identified El Elyon with Yahweh (v. 22). His willingness to take no spoil from the battle for himself demonstrates Abram's desire that God would receive all the glory for his prosperous victory. He also appears not to have wanted to be indebted to the king of Sodom. This man may have, by his command to Abram (v. 21), been setting him up for demands later on (cf. 23:15).
"The gifts of the ungodly are often attached to deadly strings."[831]
Normally the patriarchs believed that God would give them what He had promised without their having to take it from others.[832] Abram was content with what God had given him (cf. Phil. 4:11).[833]
"… just as in the previous episode where Abram allowed Lot the pick of the land, so here he allows the surly king of Sodom more than his due."[834]
"Christians are really so rich in their own inheritance that it ill becomes them to crave the possessions of others."[835]
Here (v. 24) we learn that Abram's allies: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre (v. 13), had also participated in the battle along with Abram's servants (v. 14).
This event is significant because it demonstrates Abram's trust in God to provide what He had promised, which God soon rewarded with another revelation and a promise (15:1).
"Even without the explicit warning that 'he who disdains you I shall curse,' the narrative suggests that it is dangerous to despise those through whom God works. It is the demonstration of divine support for Abram [however] that is the clearest thrust of this story."[836]
"Within Genesis … Melchizedek is primarily an example of a non-Jew who recognizes God's hand at work in Israel … They are those who have discovered that in Abram all the families of the earth find blessing."[837]
The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews expounded the typical significance of Melchizedek, and the events of this incident, in Hebrews 7 (cf. Ps. 110:4). A "type" is a divinely intended illustration given beforehand of something else like it that follows: the antitype.[838]
The confidence that God will preserve and provide for His own, just as He promised, should encourage believers to decline worldly benefits and wait for God's blessings.
"We see in chapter 14 who has the real power, Lot the man who compromised with the world, or Abraham the man who lived in separation from it. You know they tell us, 'If you want to have power and influence with the world, you must live according to it, and, in a sense, be of it. If you want to win card players, you must learn to play cards,' etc."[839]
5. The Abrahamic Covenant ch. 15
Abram virtually asked God to strengthen his faith (14:23-24). In response, Yahweh promised to give the patriarch innumerable descendants. This led Abram to request some further assurance that God would indeed do what He promised: "What will You give me, since I am childless?" (v. 2). God graciously obliged him by formalizing the promises in a covenant. In the giving of the covenant God also symbolically let Abram know that enslavement would precede the fulfillment of the promise.
From chapters 12 through 14 issues involving God's promise to Abram concerning land have predominated. From chapter 15 on tensions arising from the promise of descendants become central in the narrative.
Abram was legitimately concerned about God's provision of the Promised Land, as well as his need for an heir. He had declined the gifts of the king of Sodom, and he had placed himself in danger of retaliation from four powerful Mesopotamian kings. God had proved Himself to be Abram's "shield" (v. 1; defender) in the battle just passed. Now He promised to be the same in the future, and to give Abram a "great reward." This was God's fourth revelation to Abram in Genesis.
"Gen 15 not only stands at the center of the external structure of the Abraham narratives, but also is regarded in the history of exegesis right down to the present as the very heart of the Abraham story."[840]
"Scene 5 [ch. 15] consists of two divine encounters (15:1-6 and 7-21) involving dialogue between the Lord and Abraham and powerful images symbolizing God's presence and promises. The first occurs at night (15:5) as a vision (15:1) and pertains to the promised seed. The second occurs at sundown (15:12), partially in a deep sleep (15:12), and pertains to the promised land."[841]
Moses' declaration that "Abram believed the LORD " (v. 6) links the two sections.
15:1 "'The word of the LORD came.' This is a phrase typically introducing revelation to a prophet, e.g., 1 Sam 15:10; Hos 1:1; but in Genesis it is found only here and in v 4 of this chapter. Abraham is actually called a prophet in 20:7. It prepares the way for the prophecy of the Egyptian bondage in vv 13-16."[842]
Only in 15:1, and 22:1 and 11, did God address Abram directly. Visions were one of the three primary methods of divine revelation in the Old Testament, along with dreams and direct communications (cf. Num. 12:6-8).
In view of the possibility that the powerful Mesopotamian kings (ch. 14) might take revenge, it was natural for Abram to fear.
"By his bold intervention and rescue of Lot, Abram exposes himself to the endemic plague of that region—wars of retaliation.[843] This fear of retaliation is the primary reason for the divine oracle of 15.1 which could be translated: 'Stop being afraid, Abram. I am a shield for you, your very great reward.' Yahweh's providential care for Abram is to be seen as preventing the Mesopotamian coalition from returning and settling the score."[844]
The promise of "reward" (Heb. shakar), coming just after Abram's battle with the kings, resembles a royal grant to an officer for faithful military service.[845] God would compensate Abram for conducting this military campaign, even though he had passed up a reward from the king of Sodom. The compensation in view consisted of land and descendants (cf. Ps. 127:3).
This interpretation, that Abram feared retaliation, looks back to the preceding chapter (ch. 14). Another view looks forward to what follows in this chapter: the promise of numerous descendants for Abram. Advocates of this second view see Abram's fear as fear of remaining childless (cf. v. 2), not fear of retaliation.[846] Perhaps he feared both things. "After these things" seems to me to separate the events of chapters 14 and 15, and that may support the second view.
In response to Abram's fear, God promised that He Himself would be Abram's perfectly adequate safeguard and the only reward that he would need.
15:2-3 Abram used a new title for God, calling Him "Master (Adonai) Yahweh" (translated "Lord God," meaning "Sovereign Master"). Abram had willingly placed himself under the sovereign authority and leadership of the Strong One, the Most High God.
"… under Hurrian law a man's heir would be either his natural-born son—a direct heir—or, in the absence of any natural-born son, an indirect heir, who was an outsider adopted for the purpose. In the latter case, the adopted heir was required to attend to the physical needs of his 'parents' during their lifetime."[847]
"A childless couple adopts a son, sometimes a slave, to serve them in their lifetime and bury and mourn them when they die. In return for this service they designate the adopted son as the heir presumptive. Should a natural son be born to the couple after such action, this son becomes the chief heir, demoting the adopted son to the penultimate position."[848]
Abram assumed that since he was old and childless, and since Lot had not returned to him, the heir that God had promised him would be his chief servant, Eliezer (v. 2; cf. Prov. 17:2). The wordplay between the Hebrew words mesheq ("heir") and dammesek ("Damascus") suggests the incongruity that Abram's presumed heir (Eliezer) would apparently be an alien (cf. Jer. 49:1).
15:4 God assured Abram that the descendants that He had promised would come through a natural-born son, not an adopted heir ("one who will come from your own body"; cf. 12:7; 13:15-16). The repetition of "the word of the LORD came" (cf. v. 1) stresses the divine origin of this promise.
15:5 To the promise of "descendants as innumerable as the dust" (possibly implying physical descendants from the land, cf. 13:16), God added another promise: that Abram's seed would be as countless as "the stars." This is perhaps a promise of Abram's spiritual descendants (all believers after Abram), those who would have faith in God as he did. Abram may not have seen this distinction, since he would have more naturally taken the promise as a reference to physical descendants.
15:6 Moses did not reveal exactly what Abram "believed" (confidently trusted, relied upon), for which God "credited it to him as righteousness." In Hebrew, the preformative conjunction waw, with the imperfect tense verb following, indicates consecutive action, and it best translates as "Then." When waw occurs with the perfect tense verb following, as we have here, with a hiphil perfect, it indicates disjunctive action, and could read, "Now Abram had believed" (cf. 1:2). Many English translations avoid the problem and read simply "And" or "Abram believed."
Clearly God justified Abram (declared him righteous) because of Abram's faith. Abram's normal response to God's words to him was to believe them. Abram had trusted the Person of God previously (cf. Heb. 11:8), but he evidently had not realized that God would give him an heir from his own body (v. 4). Now he accepted this promise of God also (cf. Rom. 4:3; Gal. 3:6; James 2:23). The Hebrew word translated "believed" literally means "leaned fully."[849] Thus "trusting" is a good synonym for "believing."
One writer suggested that Abram believed the "counting" promises of 13:16 and 15:4 and 5, regarding numerous descendants, and the result was that the LORD "counted" his faith as righteousness.[850] The Apostle Paul expounded verse 15 in Romans 4 and there wrote that the promise that Abram believed was "that he would be heir of the world" (Rom. 4:13). That is, Abram believed that through his yet to be born son, Abram would bless the whole world.
"In the middle of this chapter occurs what is perhaps the most important verse in the entire Bible: Genesis 15:6. In it, the doctrine of justification by faith is set forth for the first time. This is the first verse in the Bible explicitly to speak of (1) 'faith,' (2) 'righteousness,' and (3) 'justification.'"[851]
It is also the first reference to the word "believe."
"Religious conversion appears first in recorded history in the Hebrew Bible."[852]
Trust in God's promise is what results in "justification" in any era. The promises of God (the content of faith) vary, but the object of faith does not. It is always God.[853] Technically, Abram trusted in a Person and believed His promise. To "justify" someone means to declare that person righteous, not to make him or her righteous in his or her conduct (cf. Deut. 25:1). "Justification" expresses a legal verdict.
"We are not saved by making promises to God; we are saved by believing God's promises to us. How you respond to God's promises determines what God will do in your life."[854]
Covenant theologians believe that the object of saving faith in both Testaments is the same: Jesus Christ.[855] But there does not seem to be enough specific revelation about Jesus Christ early in the Old Testament to justify such a conclusion (cf. Rom. 4:13).
Today, some preachers warn us about "easy believism," a term that they use for the teaching that faith alone is all that is necessary for salvation. But Genesis 15:6 presents faith as the only thing that resulted in Abram's justification. It sounds very much as though Abram simply gave mental assent to what God told him. Even though it is possible for a person simply to acknowledge certain facts as true (to give mental assent to them), saving faith goes beyond that and rests one's hope for the future on them (trusts them)—without adding anything else (cf. Heb. 11:1).
"He'emin, Hifil of 'aman, 'to confirm' and 'support,' means 'trust,' 'believe,' implying fiducia [the Latin word for "trust"] rather than assensus [or ascensus, the Latin word for "assent"]."[856]
Moses probably recorded Abram's faith here because it was foundational for making the Abrahamic Covenant. God made this covenant with a man who believed Him.
James 2:21 suggests that Abram was justified when he offered Isaac (ch. 22). James meant that Abram's work of willingly offering Isaac justified him (declared or showed him to be righteous). That is, his work demonstrated his righteous condition. In Genesis 15 God declared Abram righteous (in his standing before God), but in Genesis 22, Abram's works declared (testified, showed to others) that he was righteous.
"In the sacrifice of Isaac was shown the full meaning of the word (Gen. 15:6) spoken 30 years before in commendation of Abraham's belief in the promise of a child. It was the willing surrender of the child of promise, 'accounting that God was able to raise him up from the dead,' which fully proved his faith."[857]
"Righteousness is not an ideal, absolute norm which is above men, but rather a term of relationship. Thus, a man is called righteous who conducts himself properly with reference to an existing communal relationship, who, therefore, does justice to the claims which this communal relationship makes on him. This communal relationship can be human. But the passages where righteousness refers, as it does here, to the relationship of communion between man and God are more important."[858]
15:7 In order to make sure that Abram knew who was making these promises, Yahweh identified Himself as the same God who had faithfully led Abram out of Ur and into the land that God had promised to give him. He had been faithful to His promises so far, so Abram could trust Him for these additional promises.
15:8 Abram requested a sign, a supernatural verification that God would indeed fulfill the land promise ("… how may I know that I will possess it?"). His request shows that he was taking God's promises seriously. Though Abram was in the land, he had not yet taken possession of it. He was still a semi-nomadic foreigner in it. Abram's concern at this point seems to have been the promise of land more than the promise of descendants.
"Requests for signs were not unusual in Old Testament times. They were not so much to discover God's will as to confirm it."[859]
15:9-10 God responded by giving Abram a sign and making a covenant with him.
"Only after he had been counted righteous by his faith could Abraham enter into God's covenant."[860]
"Four rites are mentioned [in the Old Testament] as parts of the covenant making event. They are the setting of a stone or a group of stones, the taking of an oath, the sacrifice of animals, and/or a communal meal."[861]
The sacrifice of animals in covenant-making normally involved two parties. They divided an animal into two equal parts, joining hands, and walked between the two parts (cf. Jer. 34:18-19). On this occasion, however, God alone passed between the parts, indicating that Abram had no obligations to fulfill in order to receive the covenant promises (v. 17). The animals used were standard types of sacrificial animals.
"The use of five different kinds of sacrificial animals on this occasion underlines the solemnity of the occasion."[862]
"We suggest that the animal cutting in Gen. 15:9-10, 17 is designated a 'covenant ratification sacrifice' … The killing and sectioning of the animals by Abram is the sacrificial preparatio [preparation] for the subsequent divine ratificatio [ratification] of the covenant by Yahweh who in passing between the pieces {v. 17] irrevocably pledges the fulfillment of his covenant promise to the patriarch. The initiative of Yahweh remains in the foreground both in the instruction for the 'covenant ratification sacrifice' (Gen. 15:9-10) and in the act of berit [covenant] ratification itself (v. 17).[863]
"Gen. 15:7-21 contains covenant-making in which Yahweh binds himself in promise to Abram in the passing through the animals in the act of covenant ratification. Abram had prepared the animals for this ratification act through the 'covenant ratification sacrifice' which involved both killing and sectioning of the victims. Certain basic features of this covenant ratification rite are most closely paralleled only in aspects of the function of animal rites of the extant early second millennium treaty texts."[864]
To "ratify" (in the quotation above) means to give formal consent to either a treaty, a contract, or an agreement, making it officially valid.
God gave these instructions to Abram in direct communication. Abram was not yet asleep (v. 12) nor was he having a vision. It is impossible to tell whether Abram heard God speaking audibly from heaven, in his head, or whether God had appeared to him in the form of a man (cf. 18:16-17; Dan. 3:24-25; et al.). In view of what follows, I think probably Abram heard God speaking to him audibly from heaven or in his head.
15:11 Why did Moses include this verse? Possible he intended the reader to understand that what he had just described really took place. It would have been natural for birds of prey to attack these sacrificed animals and for Abram to drive them away. But another interpretation has been offered:
"The birds of prey are unclean (Lev. 11:13-19; Deut. 14:12-18) and represent foreign nations (Ezek. 17:3, 7; Zech. 5:9), most probably Egypt. Thus Abram driving off the birds of prey from the dismembered pieces portrays him defending his descendants from the attacks of foreign nations. Genesis itself tells of a number of attacks by foreigners against the children of Abraham (e.g. chs. 26, 34) and it already looks forward to the sojourn in Egypt (chs. 37—50 [cf. Exod. 1:11-12]). But in what sense can Abraham's actions be said to protect his offspring? Genesis 22:16-18; 26:5 suggest it was Abraham's faithful obedience to the covenant that guaranteed the blessing of his descendants. Exodus 2:24 and Deuteronomy 9:5 also ground the exodus in the divine promises made to the patriarchs. The bird scene therefore portrays the security of Israel as the consequence of Abraham's piety."[865]
15:12 Apparently Abram then fell into the same type of "deep sleep" that God brought on Adam when He took Adam's rib to make Eve (cf. 2:21). Abram's "terror" reflects his reaction to the "torch" that passed between the parts and to the revelation of the character and holy presence of God that the flame represented (cf. v. 17).
15:13-14 Moses gave more detail regarding the history of the promised descendants here than he had revealed previously (cf. vv. 14, 16). The "four hundred years" of enslavement were evidently from 1845 B.C. to 1446 B.C., the date of the Exodus.
This promise, read by the early readers of Genesis after the Exodus, would have encouraged them greatly (cf. Exod. 12:40-42). They experienced the fulfillment of this promise. That generation did indeed come out from Egypt with "many possessions," also promised here, having "plundered" the Egyptians (cf. Exod. 12:31-36).
15:15 The ancients conceived of death as a time when they would rejoin their departed ancestors ("you shall go to your fathers"; cf. 2 Sam. 12:23). This was more than just joining their ancestors in their graves. It was confidence that they would live together with them.[866] There was evidently little understanding of what lay beyond the grave in Abram's day.[867]
15:16 The Hebrew word translated "generation" generally refers to an average person's lifetime, which at that time in history was about 100 years.[868] This seems a better explanation than that four literal generations are in view. The writer mentioned four literal generations in Exodus 6:16 through 20 and Numbers 26:58 and 59, but there are quite evidently gaps in those genealogies.[869] "The Amorite" serves as a synecdoche for the ten Canaanite nations listed in verses 19 and 20. (A "synecdoche" is a figure of speech in which one part of a whole represents the whole, as here, or the whole represents a part.)
"The Amorites, we may suppose, became the most numerous, powerful, and corrupt of all the race, for they are frequently made to represent the whole [cf. 1 Kings 21:26]."[870]
15:17 The "smoking oven" and "flaming torch" were evidently one entity. This was an intensely bright, hot flame symbolizing God in His holiness. The bright, hot, burning flame is a good symbol of God in that it is pure, purges in judgment, and provides light and warmth.
"This act is a promise that God will be with Abraham's descendants (e.g. 26:3, 24; 28:15; 31:3; 46:4, etc.). Indeed the description of the theophany as a furnace of smoke and 'a torch of fire' invites comparison with the pillar of cloud and fire that was a feature of the wilderness wanderings, and especially with the smoke, fire and torches (Exod. 19:18; 20:18) that marked the law‑giving at Sinai. These were visible tokens of God's presence with his people, that he was walking among them and that they were his people (Lev. 26:12)."[871]
"In this episode then Abram's experience in a sense foreshadows that of his descendants. He sees them under attack from foreign powers but protected and enjoying the immediate presence of God. Elsewhere in the Abraham cycle, his life prefigures episodes in the history of Israel. Famine drove him to settle in Egypt (12:10; cf. chs. 42—46). He escaped after God had plagued Pharaoh (12:17; cf. Exod. 7—12), enriched by his stay in Egypt (13:2; cf. Exod. 12:35-38) and journeyed by stages (13:3; cf. Exod. 17:1; etc.) back to Canaan. In Genesis 22 Abraham goes on a three-day journey to a mountain, offers a sacrifice in place of his only son, God appears to him and reaffirms his promises. Sinai is of course a three-day journey from Egypt (Exod. 8:27), where Israel's first-born sons had been passed over (Exod. 12). There too sacrifice was offered, God appeared and reaffirmed his promises (Exod. 19—24)."[872]
"Finally, it may be observed, the interpretation of Gen. 15:9-11, 17, that I am proposing on the basis of other ritual texts in the Pentateuch is congruent with verses 13-16, which explain that Abraham's descendants would be oppressed for 400 years in Egypt before they come out with great possessions. Whether these verses are a later addition to the narrative as is generally held, or integral to it as van Seters asserts, they do confirm that at a very early stage in the history of the tradition this rite was interpreted as a dramatic representation of the divine promises to Abraham. It is not a dramatized curse that would come into play should the covenant be broken, but a solemn and visual reaffirmation of the covenant that is essentially a promise …"[873]
Another writer argued that this verse does not picture a covenant-making ritual for a unilateral, wholly unconditional covenant (cf. 17:1-2, 9-14; 18:18-19; 22:16, 18; 26:5). He believed that the covenant is unconditional, but it did not become unconditional until chapter 22.[874]
15:18 This was the formal so-called "cutting" of the Abrahamic Covenant. God now formalized His earlier promises (12:1-3, 7) into a suzerainty treaty, similar to a royal land grant, since Abram now understood and believed what God had promised. God as King bound Himself to do something for His servant Abram. The fulfillment of the covenant did not depend on Abram's obedience. It rested entirely on God's faithfulness.[875]
"Note that the conditional promise of Gen. 12:1-3 becomes an unconditional covenant in Gen. 15:18. God declared His unconditional covenant with Abraham after declaring him righteous because of his belief (15:6)."[876]
"… it is fitting that in many respects the account should foreshadow the making of the covenant at Sinai. The opening statement in 15:7: 'I am the LORD, who brought you up out of Ur of the Chaldeans,' is virtually identical to the opening statement of the Sinai covenant in Exodus 20:2: 'I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.' The expression 'Ur of the Chaldeans' refers back to Genesis 11:28, 31 and grounds the present covenant in a past act of divine salvation from 'Babylon,' just as Exodus 20:2 grounds the Sinai covenant in an act of divine salvation from Egypt. The coming of God's presence in the awesome fire and darkness of Mount Sinai (Ex 19:18; 20:18; Dt 4:11) appears to be intentionally reflected in Abraham's pyrotechnic vision (Ge 15:12, 17). In the Lord's words to Abraham (15:13-16) the connection between Abraham's covenant and the Sinai covenant is explicitly made by means of the reference to the four hundred years of bondage of Abraham's seed and their subsequent 'exodus' ('and after this they will go out,' v. 14). Such considerations lead to the conclusion that the author intends to draw the reader's attention to the events at Sinai in his depiction of the covenant with Abraham."[877]
"If we ask why the author has sought to bring the picture of Sinai here, the answer lies in the purpose of the book. It is part of the overall strategy of the book to show that what God did at Sinai was part of a larger plan which had already been put into action with the patriarchs. Thus, the exodus and the Sinai covenant serve as reminders not only of God's power and grace but also of God's faithfulness. What he sets out to accomplish with his people, he will carry through to the end."[878]
Moses revealed the general geographical borders of the Promised Land here for the first time. Some scholars interpret the "river of Egypt" as the Nile River.
"The argument is usually based on the fact that the Hebrew word nahar is consistently restricted to large rivers. However, the Hebrew is more frequently nahal (= Arabic wady) instead of the nahar of Genesis 15:18 which may have been influenced by the second nahar in the text.[879] In the Akkadian texts of Sargon II (716 B.C.) it appears as nahal musar."[880]
God later specified the Wadi El 'Arish, "the geographical boundary between Canaan and Egypt,"[881] as the exact border (Num. 34:5; Josh. 15:4, 47). That seems to be the "river" in view here too. The Euphrates River has never yet been Israel's border.[882] These borders appear to coincide roughly with those of the Garden of Eden (cf. 2:10-14). Thus the Garden of Eden may have occupied the same general area as the Promised Land.
Some amillennialists take these boundaries as an ideal expressing great blessing, and they believe that God never intended that Abram's seed should extend this far geographically.[883] But such a conclusion is subjective, and it finds no support in the text.[884] Others take this promise as referring to heaven. Still other amillennialists take it literally but believe that it was conditional and will never be fulfilled because of Israel's disobedience.[885]
15:19-21 Moses named ten of the native tribes that were then inhabiting the Promised Land. The longest of the 27 lists of pre-Israelite nations that inhabited the Promised Land names 12 entities (10:15-18a; 1 Chron. 1:13-18). Sometimes as few as two receive mention. Most of these lists identify six.[886]
The Kenites (lit. "smiths," v. 19) were copper-workers who lived among the Midianites to the southeast of the Gulf of Aqabah.[887] The Kenizzites (v. 19) lived in the extreme south of the Promised Land.[888] The Kadmonites (v. 19) evidently lived near the headwaters of the Jordan River near Mount Hermon.[889]
The Hittites mentioned here (v. 20) lived near Hebron (23:10). They are probably not the same Hittites that lived in Anatolia (Asia Minor, modern western Turkey; cf. 10:15).[890] The Perizzites (v. 20) apparently lived in villages (Heb. peraza) scattered among the other Canaanites.[891] The Rephaim (v. 20) were people of a legendary stature who lived among the other Canaanites and were also known by other names, such as Emim (Deut. 2:11) and Zamzummim (Deut. 2:20-21).[892]
The Amorites (v. 21) lived mainly in the hill country, on both sides of the Jordan River.[893] "Canaanites" (v. 21) is both a general name for all these tribes (a synecdoche) and, as used here, the name of one of them. The tribal Canaanites lived mainly in the western part of Canaan.[894] Little is known of the Girgashites (v. 21), though they were descendants of the patriarch Canaan (Gen. 10:16; 1 Chron. 1:14) and were a part of the mixed population of the Promised Land. The Jebusites (v. 21) lived mainly in the hills around Jerusalem (Num. 13:29; Josh. 11:3; 15:8; 18:16).[895]
God repeated the promises of this covenant frequently in Genesis (17:1-22; 18:1-15; 22:15-18; 26:23-24; 35:9-15; cf. 12:1-3, 7; 13:14-17).
The Abrahamic Covenant is basic to the premillennial system of theology.
"How one understands the nature and function of this covenant will largely determine one's overall theology and most particularly his eschatology [study of the end times]."[896]
This covenant has not yet been fulfilled exactly as God promised it would be. Since God is faithful to His Word, I believe He will fulfill these promises in the future. Consequently there must be a future for Israel as a nation (cf. Rom. 11). Amillennialists interpret this covenant in a less literal way. Most of them believe, for example, that the land promise was fulfilled during the reign of Solomon (1 Kings 8:65) and again during the reign of Jeroboam II (2 Kings 14:25).[897] The crucial issue is interpretation. If God fulfilled the seed and blessings promises literally—and He did—should we not expect that He will also fulfill the land promises literally as well?[898]
The Palestinian, Davidic, and New Covenants are outgrowths of the Abrahamic Covenant. Each of these expands one major promise of the Abrahamic Covenant: the land, seed, and blessing promises respectively.
God's people can rely on His promises, even if they have to experience suffering and death before they see the promises fulfilled.
6. The birth of Ishmael ch. 16
Now that God had given Abram the covenant, the writer proceeded to show how He would fulfill the promises in it. This is the reason for the selection of material that follows. So far in the story of Abram, Moses stressed the plans and purposes of God, culminating in the making of the covenant. Now we learn how Abram and his seed would realize these plans and purposes. This involves a revelation of God's ways and man's responsibilities.[899]
Sarai and Abram schemed to obtain the heir that God had promised to give them by resorting to a culturally acceptable custom of their day, but which involved a failure to trust God. This fleshly act created serious complications for Abram and his household that included Hagar fleeing into the wilderness. Nevertheless God proved faithful to His promises and responded to Hagar's cries for help. He provided for her needs, and He promised her many descendants, through Ishmael, since he was Abram's son.
"The account of Sarah's plan to have a son has not only been connected with the list of nations in chapter 15, but also appears to have been intentionally shaped with reference to the account of the Fall in Genesis 3. Each of the main verbs (wayyiqtol forms) and key expressions in 16:2-3 finds a parallel in Genesis 3."[900]
Alluding to the Fall, which the above quotation points out, implies the writer's disapproval of what Sarai did (cf. 3:17). Moses continued to focus increasing attention on the problem of an heir. Sarai had borne Abram no children (v. 1). She therefore concocted a plan to obtain an heir from his "own body" (15:4). It looked as if everything would work out well until a conflict developed between Sarai and Hagar (v. 4). This conflict grew into a major crisis when Hagar fled the family encampment pregnant with Abram's unborn child (v. 6). Yahweh intervened again to resolve the crisis (v. 7). He instructed Hagar to return to Sarai (v. 9). Thus Hagar bore Ishmael in Abram's house, but later God revealed that he would not be the promised heir.
Sarai and Hagar 16:1-6
16:1-2 Using a woman other than one's wife was a culturally approved method—apart from adoption—of providing an heir in the case of a childless marriage.[901] The Code of Hammurabi, which influenced life in the ancient Near East at this time, gave the Babylonians permission to do what Sarai suggested.[902] Hagar was Sarai's personal servant ("slave woman"). Abram also had at least one personal servant (24:2).
"It was a serious matter for a man to be childless in the ancient world, for it left him without an heir. But it was even more calamitous for a woman: to have a great brood of children was the mark of success as a wife; to have none was ignominious failure. So throughout the ancient East polygamy was resorted to as a means of obviating [removing] childlessness. But wealthier wives preferred the practice of surrogate motherhood, whereby they allowed their husbands to 'go in to' their maids, a euphemism for sexual intercourse (cf. 6:4; 30:3; 38:8, 9; 39:14). The mistress could then feel that her maid's child was her own and exert some control over it in a way that she could not if her husband simply took a second wife."[903]
Did Sarai mean that she would obtain children through Hagar by adopting them as her own, or by becoming fertile herself as a result of Hagar's childbearing? Most interpreters have taken the first position, but some have preferred the second.[904] The basis of the second view is the not-infrequent phenomenon of a woman, who has had trouble conceiving, becoming pregnant after she has adopted a child.
People in Abram's culture regarded a concubine as a "secondary wife" with some, but not all, of the rights and privileges of the primary wife.[905] In effect, Hagar became Abram's concubine.
"… one Nuzi tablet reads: 'Kelim-ninu has been given in marriage to Shennima. If Kelim-ninu does not bear children, Kelim-ninu shall acquire a woman of the land of Lulu (i.e., a slave girl) as wife for Shennima.'"[906]
Not only was using a concubine an option, but in Hurrian culture, husbands sometimes required that if their wife could not bear children, it was then her duty to provide a concubine for him.[907]
"… any child of the bond-slave would necessarily belong to the mistress, not the mother."[908]
This custom helps to explain why Abram was so willing to be part of Sarai's plan, which seems very unusual to us in the West. Abram agreed to his wife's faithless suggestion, just as Adam had followed Eve's lead. Abram's passivity contrasts with his earlier valiant action to save Lot from his captors (ch. 14).
16:3 This incident happened ten years after Abram had entered Canaan. To their credit, Abram and Sarai did not resort to this practice to obtain an heir for some time.
16:4 When Hagar conceived she began to feel superior to Sarai. When Sarai gave Hagar to Abraham, Hagar became his "property;" she was no longer Sarai's personal maid but his concubine. Hagar proceeded to despise Sarai, because she (Hagar) had been elevated to the status of Abram's (secondary) wife and because Sarai could not bear children. This led Sarai to complain to Abram about Hagar's behavior. This in turn led Abram to give Hagar back to Sarai as her "property;" she was no longer his concubine (v. 6).[909]
15:5 Like Eve, Sarai also blamed someone else for the results of her act, namely, Abram ("May the wrong done me be upon you! … May the LORD judge between you and me," v. 5). "If mama ain't happy, nobody's happy!"
15:6 In order to settle Sarai down Abram returned Hagar to Sarai as her "slave woman." But this did not work. Sarah abused Hagar to the point that Hager finally left the family encampment.
Though using a woman other than one's wife to bear one's children was a custom of the day, it was never God's desire (2:24; Matt. 19:4-5). Abram and Sarai here repeated the failure of Adam and Eve, namely, doubting God's word. This episode ended in total disaster for everyone involved. Hagar lost her home, Sarai lost her maid, Abram lost his concubine and his wife's maid, and he eventually lost his child by Hagar.[910]
"A thousand volumes written against polygamy would not lead to a clearer fuller conviction of the evils of that practice than the story under review."[911]
Sarai tried to control the will of God by seizing the initiative from God (cf. 3:17). She and Abram chose fleshly means of obtaining the promised heir, rather than waiting for God in faith (cf. 25:21).[912] They let their culture guide them rather than God.
"It's a shame that she [Sarai] hadn't comprehended the fact that her infertility could be used by the Lord to put her in a place of dependence on Him so that fruit could be born in her life."[913]
The Angel of the LORD and Hagar 16:7-14
16:7-8 This is the first of 48 references to "the angel of the LORD" in the Old Testament. In some places "the angel of the LORD" is deity, and in other places he appears to be an angelic messenger from the LORD. Here He seems to be the LORD (cf. v. 13).
"He is God himself in human form. … The figure of the angel of the Lord has conspicuous Christological qualities."[914]
The "angel" appeared to Hagar in "the wilderness" while she was on her way to Egypt. "Shur" was east of Egypt (cf. 20:1; 25:18) "between Kadesh and Bered" (v. 14). Hagar had stopped at a spring of water where the "angel" met her. The "angel" appeared as a man and conversed with Hagar.
16:9-12 The "angel" first instructed Hagar to return to Sarai and submit to her authority. Then he promised to "greatly multiply" her descendants so that they would be "too many to count." He then announced that the child that she carried in her body would be a son whom she was to name Ishmael ("God hears"). God's blessing of Ishmael was an answer to his mother's prayers. However Ishmael would be an unusual man.
"The prophetic description of Ishmael as a 'wild ass of a man' (RSV, NRSV) is rather intriguing. The animal referred to is the wild and untamable onager, which roams the desert at will. This figure of speech depicts very accurately the freedom-loving Bedouin moving across vast stretches of land."[915]
"We should say, he will carry a chip on his shoulder and have his finger on the trigger."[916]
This prophecy was not an insult or a curse. Ishmael would enjoy the freedom that his mother sought.
16:13-14 The LORD named Ishmael, and Hagar "named" the LORD "You are a God who sees me." These two names constitute a major revelation of God: He hears and He sees. This may be the only instance in Scripture of a human being conferring a name on God.
Evidently Hagar understood the "angel" to be the LORD, and she was amazed that, having seen Him, she was still alive. So she named this place "Beer-lahai-roi" ("the well of the living One who sees me").
Abram and Sarai's presumptuous and manipulative "solution" proved to be a source of much difficulty for everyone involved (cf. Abram's error in going to Egypt, 12:11-13). God, however, graciously took care of and blessed Ishmael even though he was the fruit of Abram's presumption. This was another occasion when Abram did not trust God as he should have (cf. 12:10-20).
"Both Hagar and Mary [the mother of Jesus] stand as examples of women who obediently accepted God's word and thereby brought blessing to descendants too many to count."[917]
The Apostle Paul used this story as an allegory (Gal. 4:24: "This is speaking allegorically"). An "allegory" today means a story without factual basis. Paul did not deny the factuality of Genesis 16, but he used this story as the basis for a comparison. Perhaps "illustration" or "comparison" would be better words to use to describe Paul's use of this story. He used Hagar to represent the Mosaic Covenant, and Ishmael as its fruit (a slave). He used Sarai to represent the Abrahamic Covenant, and Isaac as its fruit (a free son). Children of the flesh, like Ishmael, persecute children of the promise, like Isaac (Gal. 4:29).
There is much irony in this story: Barren Sarai lived in a fertile land, whereas fertile Hagar ended up living in a barren land. Furthermore the Egyptians, to whom the persecuted Hagar fled for freedom, later enslaved the persecutor, represented by Sarai's descendants.
Resorting to fleshly means, rather than waiting for God to provide what He has promised, always creates problems. This story also shows that human failure does not frustrate God's plans ultimately.
"If we have made mistakes which have led us into sin, the primary condition of restoration is complete submission to the will of God, whatever that may involve."[918]
When in great or in any kind of distress, people should always pray, because God is aware of their needs, and He will fulfill His promises to them.
The birth of Ishmael 16:15-16
When Ishmael was finally born, Abram named him as God had directed (v. 11). Ishmael was born 12 years after God had first promised that Abram would have descendants (12:2, 7). At that time Abram was "eighty-six years old." Now it appeared that Ishmael would be the promised heir, but God had someone else in mind for Abram.
7. The sign of circumcision ch. 17
The LORD confirmed His covenant with Abram 13 years after Ishmael's birth by reiterating the promises of descendants and land, and by commanding Abram to circumcise all the males in his household. Circumcision thereby became the physical demonstration (sign) of the obedient faith of Abram and his descendants. There is archaeological evidence from tombs and mummies that the Egyptians practiced circumcision at this time.[919]
There are three types of signs in the Old Testament. Some signs were proofs that convinced observers of something (e.g., the Egyptian plagues). Others were certain acts that resembled an announced situation (e.g., acted prophecies). Still others were reminders of something (e.g., the rainbow, circumcision).
God further encouraged Abram's faith by changing his name to Abraham, and Sarai's to Sarah. This was an added confirmation that God would indeed give them innumerable seed (descendants) as He had promised.
"The change was significant, as it placed emphasis not upon the importance of the man, but upon the purpose of God through him."[920]
"This chapter is a watershed in the Abraham story. The promises to him have been unfolded bit by bit, gradually building up and becoming more detailed and precise, until here they are repeated and filled out in a glorious crescendo in a long and elaborate divine speech. From this point in Genesis, divine speeches become rarer and little new content is added to the promises, but the fulfillment of these promises becomes more visible."[921]
There are, in fact, five divine speeches in this section: verses 1b and 2, 4 through 8, 9 through 14, 15 and 16, and 19 through 21. The third speech comprises the center of the chiastic structure of this chapter, which may also be read as two parallel panels, namely, 1 through 14 and 15 through 27.
"The chapter is more of a theological treatise than the typical Abraham story "[922]
Abram undoubtedly assumed that Ishmael would be the promised heir—until God told him that Sarai would bear his heir "herself" ("a son by her," emphasis added, v. 16). That revelation is the most important feature of this chapter. God gave the name changes and circumcision both to confirm the covenant promise of an heir and to strengthen Abram's faith.
17:1 Thirteen years after the birth of Ishmael (16:16), God spoke to Abram again (the fifth revelation). God called Himself by a new name: El Shaddai (the "God Almighty"). This was appropriate in view of the thing that God proceeded to reveal to Abram that He would do. It would require supernatural power.
"Blameless" does not mean sinless, but "with integrity," or "wholeness of relationship" (with God; cf. 6:9). God requires such a life of those who would enjoy His promised blessings.
17:2 The references to the "covenant" in this chapter have caused some confusion. The Abrahamic Covenant (ch. 15) is in view (vv. 4, 7, 11, 19, 21), but also the outward sign of that covenant, which was the Covenant of Circumcision (vv. 2, 9, 10, 13, 14; cf. Acts 7:8). Thus Moses used the word "covenant" with two different references here, though throughout, the Abrahamic Covenant is in view.[923] Visualizing the Covenant of Circumcision as a smaller circle within the larger circle of the Abrahamic Covenant will help us understand the relationship of these two covenants to one another. Whereas the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant were unconditional, the Covenant of Circumcision depended on Abram's obedience (vv. 1-2). God would bless Abram as Abram obeyed God by circumcising his household. This blessing would be in the form of multiplying Abram's descendants "exceedingly," even more than God had already promised. The rite of circumcision was to be a continuing sign of the Abrahamic Covenant to all of Abram's descendants.
17:3 Abram's response to this great promise was to prostrate himself on the ground as a sign of his great gratitude and wholehearted submission to God Almighty.
17:4-5 God also gave Abram and Sarai the added assurance that they would have a multitude of descendants by changing their names.[924] He changed the name "Abram" ("High" or "Exalted Father") to "Abraham" ("Father of a Multitude"). And He changed the name "Sarai" ("My Princess" [perhaps a reference to her noble descent]) to "Sarah" ("Royal Princess" [from whom kings would come; cf. v. 16]). Abraham's name emphasized the innumerable number of his seed, and Sarah's evidently stressed the royal nature of their family line (vv. 6, 16, 20; cf. 12:2).
17:6 "The choice of the word be fruitful in verse 6 and multiply in verse 2 seems intended to recall the blessing of all humankind in 1:29: 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the land,' and its reiteration in 9:1: 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the land.' Thus the covenant with Abraham was the means through which God's original blessing would again be channeled to all humankind."[925]
17:7 Circumcision was "an everlasting covenant" because it was designed to mark the eternal salvation of the person who believed God as Abraham did, not because God wanted people to practice it for all of human history.[926] God, for instance, has not commanded circumcision of the flesh for Christians (cf. Gal. 5:6).
Some Christians in the reformed traditions of Protestantism regard baptism as what God requires of us today in place of circumcision. They practice infant baptism believing that this rite brings the infant into the "covenant community" (i.e., the church) and under God's care in a special sense. Some believe baptism saves the infant. Others believe it only makes the infant a recipient of special grace.
The Bible is quite clear, however, that water baptism is a rite that believers should practice after they trust Christ as their Savior as a testimony to their faith. Undoubtedly there are some parallels between circumcision and baptism. Nevertheless, God did not intend baptism to replace circumcision. God did command circumcision of the Israelites in the Mosaic Law, but He has not commanded circumcision of Christians. Christians do not live under the Mosaic Law (Rom. 4:10-13; 6:14-15; 7:1-4; 10:4).
17:8 God also repeated His promise that the land of Canaan would be the possession of Abraham and his descendants "as an everlasting possession." He also promised to remain Israel's God forever. That is, He promised never to abandon them as His chosen people.
In recent years wars have been fought over who has the right to claim ownership of the ancient land of Canaan. The Palestinians base their claim on the fact that for centuries they occupied this territory, until the United Nations gave it to the Jews. The Israelis claim ownership on the basis of these promises that God gave to Abraham and his descendants, as well as the United Nations' decision in 1948. God told the Israelites that they could occupy the Promised Land as long as they were obedient to the Mosaic Covenant. If they were disobedient, He would drive them out of the land. But He also promised to bring them back into it when they as a whole returned to faith in Him. The Old Testament prophets predicted that this will happen in the future. It has not happened yet.
17:9-13 God wanted Abraham to circumcise all of his male servants, including slaves that he had bought from a foreigner, as well as his children and grandchildren (vv. 12-13). The reason for this was that the Abrahamic Covenant would affect all who had a relationship with Abraham. Consequently they needed to bear the sign of that covenant.
Only males underwent circumcision; females did not. In the patriarchal society of the ancient Near East, people considered that a girl or woman shared the circumcised condition of her father, if she was single, or her husband, if she was married.
Circumcision was a fitting symbol of belief in God's promises to Abraham for several reasons:[927]
1. It would have been a frequent reminder to every circumcised male of God's promises involving seed (descendants), since circumcision was a medical procedure on the penis.
2. It involved the cutting off of flesh. The circumcised male was one who repudiated "the flesh" (i.e., the simply physical and natural aspects of life) in favor of trust in Yahweh and His spiritual promises. Thus the "flesh" was involved in circumcision both literally and figuratively.
3. It resulted in greater cleanliness of life and freedom from the effects of sin (i.e., disease and eventually death). Literal circumcision is still performed today for hygienic reasons.
"Research indicates that other Middle Eastern cultures practiced circumcision However, the Hebrews were unique in that they practiced infant circumcision, which, though medically risky if not properly performed, is less physically and psychologically traumatic than circumcisions performed at an older age."[928]
Designating the eighth day after birth as the day of circumcision (v. 12) is one of the most amazing specifications in the Bible, from a medical standpoint. Why the eighth day?
"At birth, a baby has nutrients, antibodies, and other substances from his mother's blood, including her blood-clotting factors, one of them being prothrombin. Prothrombin is dependent on vitamin K for its production. Vitamin K is produced by intestinal bacteria, which are not present in a newborn baby. After birth prothrombin decreases so that by the third day it is only 30 percent of normal. Circumcision on the third day could result in a devastating hemorrhage.
"The intestinal bacteria finally start their task of manufacturing vitamin K, and the prothrombin subsequently begins to climb. On day eight, it actually overshoots to 110 percent of normal, leveling off to 100 percent on day nine and remaining there for the rest of a person's healthy life. Therefore the eighth day was the safest of all days for circumcision to be performed. On that one day, a person's clotting factor is at 110 percent, the highest ever, and that is the day God prescribed for the surgical process of circumcision.
"Today vitamin K (Aqua Mephyton) is routinely administered to newborns shortly after their delivery, and this eliminates the clotting problem. However, before the days of vitamin K injections, a 1953 pediatrics textbook recommended that the best day to circumcise a newborn was the eighth day of life.[929]
Another writer saw the eighth day as symbolic of completing a cycle of time corresponding to the Creation.[930]
17:14 The person who refused circumcision was "cut off from his people," because, by refusing it, he was repudiating God's promises to Abraham ("he has broken My covenant").
"This expression ["cut off from his people"] undoubtedly involves a wordplay on cut. He that is not himself cut (i.e., circumcised) will be cut off (i.e., ostracized). Here is the choice: be cut or be cut off."[931]
There are two main views as to the meaning of being "cut off from his people." Some scholars hold that it means excommunication from the covenant community (in this case Abraham's family) and its benefits.[932] But there is also later evidence in Scripture that points to execution as the meaning—sometimes by the Israelites, but usually by God, in the form of premature death.[933] The threat of being "cut off" hung over the Israelite offender, like the threat of contracting a terminal disease that might end one's life at any time does today.
The person who refused to participate in circumcision demonstrated his lack of faith in God by his refusal. Thus he broke the Covenant of Circumcision.
17:15-16 God informed Abraham that He had big plans for Sarai as well as for him. He would bless her by giving her a son, after a lifetime of being childless, and the descendants that would come from this son would become nations. Furthermore, kings would come from her. In order to memorialize these promises God also changed Sarai's name to Sarah, meaning "princess."
"Sarai signifies my princess, as if her honour were confined to one family only. Sarah signifies a princess—namely, of multitudes [i.e., a royal princess]."[934]
17:17 Abraham's laughter probably expressed his amazement, and it was probably a joyful response to God's promise.[935] Sarah's laughter (18:15) seems to have arisen from a spirit of unbelief. God did not criticize Abraham for laughing (in delight), but He did rebuke Sarah when she laughed (in doubt).
17:18 However Abraham seems to have preferred that Ishmael would be his heir, being his firstborn son, rather than the boy that Sarah would bear. His longing request seems to be that Ishmael would become a son worthy to carry on leadership of the family and be the honored channel of divine blessing.
17:19 God's plan was that Isaac, not Ishmael, would be the person through whom He would fulfill His promises to Abraham. God repeated His promise that Sarah would bear Abraham a son in order to remove any doubt that Abraham might have had that this miracle would indeed take place. Isaac's name meant "he laughs," which would have been a constant reminder to his parents that his birth had been a laughable thing, in view of their advanced ages.
17:20 God honored Abraham's request that God would bless Ishmael (v. 18). He too would be fruitful, father 12 princes, and become a great nation. The Arabs trace their ancestry back to Ishmael.
17:21-22 But God would fulfill what He had promised in His covenant with Abraham through Isaac, not Ishmael. He also promised that Sarah would give birth to Isaac "at this season next year." Then God departed from Abraham.
17:23-27 On the very same day that God had said these things to him, Abraham circumcises every male in his extensive household, including Ishmael. As head of the household in this patriarchal society Abraham's faith in God would have been accepted by everyone in his household. Again we see Abraham responding in obedience to God's commands immediately.
The writer's use of the phrase the "very same day" (vv. 23, 26) points to a momentous day, one of the most important days in human history (cf. Noah's entry into the ark, 7:13; and the Exodus, Exod. 12:17, 41, 51).
This fifth revelation from God advanced God's promises in seven particulars:
1. Part of God's blessing would depend on Abraham's maintaining the Covenant of Circumcision, though the Abrahamic Covenant as a whole did not depend on this (vv. 1-2).
2. Many nations would come from Abraham (vv. 4-6).
3. The Abrahamic Covenant would be "everlasting" (vv. 7-8).
4. God would be the God of Abraham's descendants in a special relationship (vv. 7-8).
5. This is also the first time God identified the Promised Land as "Canaan" by name (v. 8).
6. Sarah herself would give birth to the promised heir (v. 16).
7. Sarah would give birth in 12 months (v. 21)
"Abraham's experiences should teach us that natural law [barrenness] is no barrier to the purposes and plans for [sic of] God."[936]
"Thus Abraham and Noah are presented as examples of those who have lived in obedience to the covenant and are thus 'blameless' before God, because both obeyed God 'as he commanded them' (17:23; cf. 6:22; 7:5, 9, 16)."[937]
8. Yahweh's visit to Abraham 18:1-15
Chapters 18 and 19 constitute one integrated story, but we shall consider this episode in the Abraham narrative section by section. Like the Flood story, it has a chiastic structure, this time focusing on the announcement of the destruction of Sodom (19:12-13).[938] Again there is a mass destruction, with only one man and his family escaping. Both stories end with the father's intoxication, and shameful treatment of the father by his children, that have consequences for future generations.[939]
We can perceive the LORD's gracious initiative, that He extended toward Abraham, in His visit, namely, to eat and commune with the patriarch under the tree outside his tent. This was an evidence of intimate fellowship in Abraham's culture. On the basis of that close relationship, God guaranteed the soon arrival of the promised heir (cf. 17:21). In response to Sarah's laugh of unbelief, the LORD declared that nothing would be too difficult for Him.
This chapter and the next may seem at first reading to be extraneous (irrelevant) to the purpose of the Abraham narrative, which is to demonstrate God's faithfulness to His promises to the patriarch. But they are not. Chapter 18 contributes the following:
1. It records another "promised heir" revelation in which God repeated exactly when the heir would appear (vv. 10, 14; cf. 17:21). With this revelation God strengthened Abraham's, and especially Sarah's, faith.
2. It fortifies Moses' emphasis on God's supernatural power at work to fulfill His divine promises, in spite of apparently impossible circumstances (vv. 9-15).
3. As a literary device, this chapter provides an interlude in the story line, and it heightens suspense by prolonging the climax. We anticipate the arrival of the heir with mounting interest.
4. It presents Abraham as an intercessor, one of the roles of the prophets, of whom Abraham was one of the first (cf. 20:7).
5. It records God's announcement of judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah (vv. 16-33), which follows in chapter 19.
"The noon encounter in this chapter and the night scene at Sodom in the next are in every sense a contrast of light and darkness. The former, quietly intimate and full of promise, is crowned by the intercession in which Abraham's faith and love show a new breadth of concern. The second scene is all confusion and ruin, moral and physical, ending in a loveless squalor which is even uglier than the great overthrow of the cities."[940]
"There is also a blatant contrast between how Abraham hosted his visitors (ch. 18) and how the Sodomites hosted the same delegation (ch. 19)."[941]
18:1 Abraham was living near Hebron at this time ("the oaks of Mamre"; cf. 13:18; 14:13).
18:2 The three "men" were "the LORD" (the Angel of Yahweh, vv. 13, 17, 20, 33), and "two angels" (19:1; cf. 18:22) who later visited Lot. If Abraham had previously met the Angel of the LORD, it seems likely that he would have recognized Him at once (cf. 17:1, 22). If he had not, Abraham definitely became aware of who this Angel was during this encounter (cf. v. 25).
"It is safe to assume that every visible manifestation of God in bodily form in the Old Testament is to be identified with the Lord Jesus Christ."[942]
"It appears that in Old Testament times God came in the form of a man, while in the incarnation He actually became man."[943]
18:3-8 Abraham's hospitality reflects oriental custom as practiced in his day and, in some respects, even as it is practiced today in the Middle East.[944] Abraham was behaving more wisely than he realized, since he did not yet know that his guests were heaven-sent visitors (v. 8).
18:9 "Where is your wife Sarah?" recalls God's earlier questions about Adam (3:9) and Abel (4:9).
18:10-11 The Angel assured Abraham that He would revisit him at the same time the following year, and He repeated the divine promise that at that time Sarai would have a son (cf. 17:21). Apparently this was the first time that Sarah heard this promise directly from the LORD.
18:12 Sarah's laugh "to herself," which the LORD nevertheless heard, sprang from a spirit of unbelief, due to long disappointment, as is clear from the LORD's response to it ("Is anything too difficult for the LORD?" v. 14). Abraham's laugh (17:17) did not draw such a response. Sarah's words "am I to have pleasure" probably refer to her pleasure in bearing a son and being a mother after so many years of being childless.
18:13 The fact that the LORD knew that Sarah had laughed "to herself," and knew her thoughts, demonstrated His omniscience to Abraham and Sarah. This would have strengthened their faith in what He told them.
18:14 The LORD's rhetorical question, one of the great statements of Scripture, reminded the elderly couple of His supernatural power, and it fortified their faith further (cf. Jer. 32:17, 27). He repeated again, a third time, His promise of a son for Abraham and Sarah (cf. 17:21. 18:10).
18:15 Sarah evidently denied that she had laughed either from fear of the LORD's power or from fear of offending Him. Again God built confidence in His word. If the LORD could read Sarah's thoughts, could He not also open her womb?
Believers should never doubt God's promises, because nothing is impossible for Him.
9. Abraham's intercession for Lot 18:16-33
After God reviewed the reasons for sharing His plans for the destruction of Sodom with Abraham, He told the patriarch that He was about to investigate the wicked condition of that city. This news moved Abraham to ask God to deal justly with the righteous people there.
"A rhetorical question in each section—'Is anything too demanding for Yahweh?' [v. 14]; 'Shall not he who judges all the earth give right judgment?" [v. 25]—sounds the major motif of each unit [vv. 1-15 and vv. 16-33]. In both units it is some kind of noise that provokes Yahweh—Sarah's laugh and Sodom's groans."[945]
18:16 Sodom was east of Hebron, where Abraham was living at this time.
18:17-19 These verses record a soliloquy (an act of speaking one's thoughts aloud regardless of any hearers) that the LORD spoke to Himself (cf. 1:26). Probably Abraham did not hear these words. God must have revealed them to Moses directly.
God chose to reveal His intention to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah to Abraham. He did so because of His plans for Abraham. Notice that God said that He had "chosen him" (v. 19). God's choice to bless Abraham was His initiative; He did not choose Abraham because of anything special about him.
God evidently chose to reveal His plans for Sodom and Gomorrah because He wanted to challenge Abraham to act wisely and nobly for justice. "Righteousness and justice" (v. 19) may be a hendiadys meaning "genuine righteousness" (cf. Mic. 3:1; 4:8). In other words, God shared His plans with Abraham in order to test Abraham's faith. Would Abraham respond by saying: So what? Who cares? Or would he exhibit compassion for those under God's judgment and so demonstrate truly righteous behavior?
18:20-21 Like Abel's blood "cried out" for God to punish his murderer (4:10), so the "exceedingly grave" wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah cried out to God for punishment. "I will go down now and see" (v. 21) is another anthropomorphism, this one emphasizing God's justice (cf. Ps. 113:4-6). God always thoroughly investigates a situation before passing judgment and sending calamity, because He is just.[946]
"In this section [vv. 1-21] we have an illustration of fellowship with God and some of its essential features. Fellowship is the crowning purpose of God's revelation (1 John i: 3). There is nothing higher than this, for man's life finds its complete fulfillment in union and communion with God. Notice the following elements:—
"1. Sacred Intimacy. …
"2. Genuine Humility. …
"3. Special Revelation.—Fellowship with God is always associated with the knowledge of His will. Servants do not know their master's purposes, but friends and intimates do. …
"4. Unique Association.—The man who is in fellowship with God does not merely know the Divine will, but becomes associated with God in the carrying out of that will. …"[947]
"The Lord would not arbitrarily destroy them [the people of Sodom]. As a fair and just judge, He would examine the evidence and then reward their deeds appropriately. The anthropomorphic language veils the ontological [having to do with the nature of His being] reality of God's omniscience, but the Lord seems to have been more concerned in this context with revealing Himself as a fair judge, emphasizing the importance of human responsibility and inviting Abraham to assume the role of an intercessor."[948]
18:22 "The men" refers to two of the angels who had visited Abraham, and "the LORD" refers to the third "man" (cf. vv. 1-2). Now the two angels headed for Sodom, but Abraham remained where he was with the LORD.
18:23 This is the first time that Scripture records a man initiating a conversation with God. Abraham prayed—he spoke and interceded directly to God—for all the people of Sodom, not just Lot. His question was "Will You sweep away the righteous with the wicked?"
18:24-32 Abraham's intercession raises several questions in the minds of thoughtful Bible students. Did Abraham succeed in his intercession, since, in the end, God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah? Some interpreters believe he did not succeed, because he quit too soon:
"… Abraham ceased asking before God ceased giving."[949]
This conclusion assumes that Abraham's primary purpose was to get God to demonstrate mercy and to spare the cities for the sake of their few righteous inhabitants (v. 24). While this idea was obviously in Abraham's mind, his primary purpose seems rather to have been to secure justice (i.e., deliverance) for the righteous minority in their wicked city (vv. 23, 24). Secondarily he wanted God to spare the city. This interpretation finds support in Abraham's appeal to the justice of God rather than to His mercy (v. 25). This appeal was the basis of his intercession. Abraham was jealous for the reputation of Yahweh among his neighbors. If this was indeed his primary purpose, Abraham succeeded in obtaining justice for the righteous in Sodom.
A second question arises from Abraham's method of interceding. Is his haggling with God an example that we should follow? Evidently Abraham was not trying to wear God down by pressuring Him. Instead he was seeking clarification from God as to the extent of His mercy. He wanted to find out just how merciful God would be in judging Sodom.
Why did Abraham stop with 10 righteous people (v. 32)? Perhaps he had learned that the LORD would be merciful regardless of the number.[950] Perhaps he thought there would be at least 10 righteous people in Sodom. If so, he underestimated the wickedness of the Sodomites, and, perhaps, he overestimated "righteous" Lot's influence over his neighbors (cf. 2 Pet. 2:7).
Will God spare a city or nation today because of the Christians—who are righteous by God's grace—in it? This passage is helpful in answering this question, because in it we can see that the presence of a godly minority does play a role in influencing God's judgment. It may not prevent judgment, but it is a factor that God takes into account as He evaluates cities and nations. A godly minority can delay judgment by promoting godliness.
"Here begins the docrine [sic doctrine] of the Remnant, the 'salt of the earth,' which from then till now has preserved corrupt societies from final disintegration."[951]
A godly minority may not prevent God's judgment if "sin is exceedingly grave" (v. 20). God does not always choose to remove the righteous from the wicked before He judges the wicked, as He did in Lot's case. Nevertheless, "the Judge of all the earth" (v. 25) does "deal justly." We can see this when we take the long view of life: People alive now have yet to receive their final judgment from the divine Judge (cf. Rom. 2:4; 9:22; 1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 3:9, 15).
Abraham's shameless, bold persistence with God illustrates what Jesus had in mind when he taught the importance of these qualities in prayer (e.g., Luke 11:5-10; 18:1-8). Three-fold repetition is common in Scripture, but Abraham's doubling of it—six-fold—gives his request even more solemnity and weight.
18:33 At the end of their conversation Yahweh departed from Abraham, and Abraham returned to his encampment by the oaks of Mamre near Hebron (cf. v. 1; 13:18).
This chapter illustrates a progression in Abraham's relationship with God, which is normal for those who have a trusting relationship with Him.
1. God revealed Himself to Abraham (v. 1).
2. Abraham welcomed God's revelation (vv. 2-3).
3. Fellowship resulted (vv. 4-8). They ate together.
4. This fellowship led to further revelation and greater understanding of God's will (vv. 9-22).
5. Having learned of God's purpose to judge the sinners, Abraham's response was to intercede for those under God's judgment (vv. 23-32). One of the evidences of Abraham's righteousness is that he loved his neighbors (the righteous in Sodom).
"It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to pray effectively for lost souls if one is not convinced that lostness will ultimately result in literal, eternal punishment."[952]
The outstanding lesson of this section is, most likely, that since God is a righteous Judge, He will not destroy the righteous with the wicked.[953]
10. The destruction of Sodom ch. 19
Chapters 18 and 19 "paint a vivid contrast between the respective patriarchal ancestors, Abraham and Lot, with an obvious moralistic intent (i.e., a demonstration that human initiatives—Lot's choice—always lead to catastrophe)."[954]
"In the development of the story two of the themes in counterpoint with Abraham and the Promise—the theme of Lot, the righteous man without the pilgrim spirit, and of Sodom, the standing example of worldly promise, insecurity (chapter 14) and decay—are now heard out to their conclusion. By a master-stroke of narrative, Abraham, who will outlive all such time-servers, is shown standing at his place of intercession (27), a silent witness of the catastrophe he has striven to avert. It is a superb study of the two aspects of judgment: the cataclysmic, as the cities disappear in brimstone and fire, and the gradual, as Lot and his family reach the last stages of disintegration, breaking up in the very hands of their rescuers."[955]
19:1 The traditional site of Sodom is near the south bay of the Dead Sea. Many scholars still support this location.[956]
Lot was "sitting at the gate of Sodom" when "the two angels" (cf. 18:22) found him. Sitting in the gate of a town was the equivalent of having an official position at city hall (2 Sam. 15:2-6; 1 Kings 22:10; Amos 5:10, 12, 15).[957] This was an indication that Lot had been recognized as a leader in Sodom (cf. v. 9).
"Archaeological excavations show that the gates of Palestinian cities often had stone benches or seats as a built-in part of the structure, so that people might sit there and wait for their friends, or engage in conversation with those whom they had agreed to meet at the gate."[958]
19:2-3 As Abraham had done, Lot extended hospitality to his visitors (cf. 18:3-8). Note that Lot lived in a house, which implies a permanent residence, whereas Abraham lived in a tent, which reflects his nomadic type of existence (18:1-2, 6)
"Lot's move from a tent pitched near Sodom (13:12, 13) to a permanent residence in the city showed his willingness to exist with unbridled wickedness."[959]
19:4-5 The men of Sodom wanted to have homosexual relations with Lot's visitors.[960] The Mosaic Law later regarded all homosexual behavior as a capital offense (Lev. 18:22; 20:13; cf. Rom. 1:26-27).[961] The Sodomites' lack of hospitality contrasts with Abraham's hospitality (18:1-8), and it reflects their depraved moral state.
"With the growing prominence of the homosexual movement, it is now being said that the sin was not homosexuality but inhospitality and gang rape.[962]
"The claim goes that when Lot received the two angels (who appeared as men and were strangers to the residents of Sodom), he angered the locals because no one had examined their credentials. So when the locals demanded to 'know' them (v. 5), they only wanted to get acquainted with them. Lot, however, was bound to be hospitable to the strangers and to protect his guests, so he offered to sacrifice his daughters to the crowd. And had not the angels blinded the men of the city, then gang rape would have occurred. But, the argument concludes, homosexual relations were never the intent of the men of Sodom. This view gained initial prominence in 1955 and has been restated often."[963]
"Exegetically, the word know can mean 'get acquainted with.' But it also means 'to have intercourse with' and is used with that meaning about nineteen times in Genesis. But statistics do not decide the matter. What decides it is the use in verse 8, where it obviously means that Lot's daughters had not had intercourse with a man. It certainly cannot mean they had never been acquainted with a man. If intercourse is the clear meaning in verse 8, then the same verb in verse 5 evidently has the same meaning (though in relation to homosexual relations in that verse). The men of Sodom lusted after the two men (angels), desiring homosexual relations with them."[964]
19:6-8 Hospitality was more important than sexual morality to Lot (cf. Judg. 19:23-25). Compromise with sinners tends to distort values. Lot considered his duty to his guests (hospitality) of greater importance than his duty to his children (protection). Lot offered his daughters to these men, but Abraham later offered his son to the LORD (ch. 22).
"When a man took in a stranger, he was bound to protect him, even at the expense of the host's life."[965]
19:9-10 Archaeologists have found evidence that, at this time, it was not uncommon for houses to have very strong walls and heavy stone doors.[966] This may explain, in part, why the men of Sodom could not enter Lot's dwelling.
19:11 The moral blindness of the Sodomites led to their spiritual blindness, and even to physical blindness (cf. 2 Kings 6:18).
"Apparently there was no attempt made in the city of Sodom to have a church for this crowd and to tell them that they were all right in spite of the fact that they practiced this thing."[967]
19:12-14 God had told Noah to bring his wife, his sons, and their wives into the ark for protection (7:1, 7). He did so, and they were saved. The two "men" (angels) told Lot to gather his family and to be ready to escape Sodom for their protection. But his sons-in-law, who were presumably Sodomites, laughed at his warning, and they were destroyed.
It is not clear whether Lot's two daughters (v. 15) were married at this time or if they were engaged to be married. The Hebrew participle allows either interpretation.[968]
19:15-17 The angels' compassion, and Yahweh's compassion behind it, stands out in these verses. The angels had to physically pull Lot and his family out of the city. The sons-in-law did not accompany them (cf. v. 31).
"In order to show that the rescue of Lot was in response to the prayer of Abraham, the narrative reads so that the words of the messengers ["swept away," vv. 15, 17] recall explicitly the words of Abraham's prayer in behalf of the righteous in the previous chapter ["sweep away," 18:23]."[969]
"This is the whole point of the story. God could have destroyed the city of Sodom with no word to Lot or Abraham (18:17). But because of God's mercy, His angels grabbed Lot and his family and brought them forcefully to safety."[970]
Once out of Sodom, Lot's family still had to flee farther away. The angels told Lot to escape to the mountains to avoid being swept away in the judgment of Sodom.
19:18-20 Lot was grateful for the angels' compassion, but he did not want to go to the mountains. He claimed that disaster would overtake him there and he would die. As things turned out, it would have been better for Lot to die in the mountains then than what happened to him when he fled there later (vv. 30-38). Lot pled with the angels to let him go to the nearby town of Zoar. Lot still favored urban dwelling, in spite of the moral corruption that he had encountered there, as opposed to life in the country.
19:21-22 One of the angels granted Lot's request and promised not to destroy Zoar on Lot's account, nor would he judge Sodom until Lot was safely in Zoar. "Zoar" (v. 22) means "insignificant" (in size at least).
19:23-25 It was daybreak when Lot finally reached Zoar. Then Yahweh sent "fire and brimstone" from heaven down of Sodom and Gomorrah—the cities, all the inhabitants of the cities, all the surrounding area, and what grew on the ground in that vicinity. All that Lot had gained by living in Sodom burned up like "wood, hay, and stubble" (cf. 1 Cor. 3:10-15).
Josephus wrote that God sent a thunderbolt to set the city on fire (v. 24).[971]
"It is possible that God did see fit miraculously to time an earthquake at this precise moment, which could have released great quantities of gas, mixed sulphur with various salts found in abundance, and measurably increased the flow of asphalt seepage. Lightning could have ignited all, and the entire country been consumed as indicated. The Bible is clear that God does use natural means to accomplish His purpose when and to the extent that they are available. He may have done so here."[972]
"The heaven's rain cannot be explained solely as a natural phenomenon, such as earthquake; it was exceptional, never again repeated, providing the parade illustration of the fiery eschatological judgment against the wicked (e.g., 2 Pet 2:6-9). The twin calamities of Noah and Lot illustrate Jesus' teaching on the suddenness of the coming of the Son of Man (Luke 17:26-30)."[973]
The Apostle Peter cited Lot as an example of the LORD's deliverance of the godly from the very trials that He uses to punish the ungodly (2 Pet. 2:6-10).
19:26 Probably the burning sodium sulfate ("brimstone and fire") that was raining down was what covered Lot's wife and which turned her into a "pillar of salt."[974] Evidently she had lingered behind Lot and had not yet reached Zoar, as he had, when the falling brimstone fell on her. The fact that she "looked back" toward Sodom, as well as the fact that she was trailing behind Lot, shows that she was reluctant to leave Sodom.
"… something tragic occurs in us when we fan the flames of an old lust and linger over the pleasurable scenes of a lifestyle that was ruining us. If, by the grace of God, He leads you out of a lifestyle of wrong, you will only hinder your recovery by looking back in longing. There's something about a second glance—about lingering over a selective memory—that makes us weak against the pull of what we left behind."[975]
The Apostle John called believers to not love the world, or the things in the world—because they will pass away (1 John 2:15-17). Jesus warned those living just before His return to "