Class Notes from
1/23/03
Continuing definitions of literary forms in Genesis:
Itineraries: accounts of the travel or movement of a person; for example, the journeys of Abraham or Jacob
Cult Worship: passages providing explanations of or descriptions about why specific sites became places of worship—sometimes a person is told to build an altar; other times, as with Jacob, the person indicates that the experience with the God is why he builds an altar
Gen. 6-7: Note the different versions woven together
Clean and unclean animals--added by Priestly tradition
Gen. 8:1 Key phrase "But God remembered Noah…"
Gen. 8:21: emphasis on the role of sacrifice; "I will never again curse the ground…"
Gen. 9:6: note the emphasis on humans made in the image of God; also the importance
of blood as the life source
Gen. 9:14 ff: the sign of the covenant; this is the first covenant reference in Genesis
Gen. 9: 18 ff: The implication of the action is sexual violation--"saw the nakedness of his father"; the implication is a violation of boundaries again. the curse of Canaan not Ham; interpreters struggle with this. There is a sense that Canaan was really the guilty one; there is also the interpretation that slavery is justified. This is a troubling reality since Canaan is the ancestor of many people of Africa. In the scope of Genesis, Canaan's descendants are those who are "outsiders"--they follow multiple gods and they are to be avoided.
Gen. 10--a genealogy that provides a context for future nations or groups of people;
Note reference to Nimrod; legend has him as predecessor to the Philistines (Goliath)
Gen. 11--Tower of Babel--overstepping the boundaries of humanity; these people want to make a name for themselves; the Biblical notion of name: having power over someone;
These people seemed to want to oppose the God; also ziggurats--high towers built to honor the gods--were common in various cultures. There is a further notion of God being "up" and needing to try to climb to heaven. Within this story also, the sense of language, a distinctly human gift, and consider how it is being used. This story centers around a city--keep watch on how cities are portrayed
Gen. 11: 10-32: here we have the genealogy leading to Abram; 11:30—reference to barrenness of Sarai;
Gen. 1-11 has focused on the
primeval history; note how from Gen. 12 onward we have the story of specific
people, the story of God's calling and establishing this people as his own.
Gen. 12:6 : The Oak of Moreh--one of the sacred places; Shechem is a site of covenants and theophanies—this is an example of cult worship; Note also though, "The Canaanites were in the land"; vs. 10 Abram going into Egypt--to "reside there as an alien"; Watch the on-going theme of insiders and outsiders; the theme of Egypt and the way it differs in Genesis and Exodus; and the theme of the land: frequently land that is inhabited and belongs to other peoples is promised to the Abram and his descendants
Vs. 17 God afflicts Egypt with plagues/ notice how God does care for the women involved (Sarai, later Rebekah) by seeing that they are not “used” sexually
Gen. 13: Some of the initial tensions between Abram and Lot--some interpreters signal that Lot is kind of a suspect character--why does he want to move from Abram when Abram is a protector? Note that Lot chooses to live in cities, specifically Sodom
Gen. 15: The Call of Abram; note the different versions, the promises, the descriptions of covenant; vs. 12ff -- things are not going to be easy; vs. 16—reference to the Amorites—descendants of Ham, Canaan; vs. 17ff--the land given already belongs to others
Gen. 16: Sarai's barrenness--barrenness considered a curse;
first story of the Hagar-Sarai-Abram triangle; vs. 11 ff: the description of Ishmael; note he is to be a
wanderer; Herman Melville's great novel Moby Dick opens with the
line "Call me Ishmael"; compare with Gen. 21
Gen. 17: the covenant--sealed with a sign in the flesh--circumcision; the name changes; vs. 17 Abraham laughs; Ch. 18:12 Sarah laughs—Isaac is a name that means “laughter”
Gen. 18: the oak of Mamre--sacred place; Abraham's hospitality--the significance of guests and treatment of guests; vs. 22 "so the men turned from there, and went toward Sodom…" Gen. 18: 16-33 the bargaining of Abraham and God--consider the image of the God who would share his plans with Abraham and take Abraham’s advice; vs. 27—Abraham asserts, “I who am but dust and ashes”
Gen. 19: One of the horrific stories--what about Sodom and Gomorrah was truly so evil? What about Lot? Hospitality demands vs. the innocence of his daughters?? Vs. 9 –the charge against Lot: “this man came here as an alien”; The city of Zoar--Lot wants to escape there "Isn't it a little one?" Lot's daughters?? Their descendants become Moabites and Ammonites--two groups of peoples the Israelites will shun
Gen 20: an example of itinerary; Abraham’s 2nd journey into the lands of “outsiders” and the 2nd endangerment story
Gen. 22: The “test”
Gen. 23: the death of Sarah—first consideration of a woman’s death; the cave of Machpelah
Gen. 24: Abraham sending a servant to Abraham’s relatives/homeland to find a wife for Isaac; the important role of the servant; Laban offering hospitality—will not be the same when Jacob, son of Rebekah, Laban’s daughter—comes; key vs. signaling some initiative for women: vs.57: “We will call the girl and ask her”
Gen. 25: the death of Abraham; the descendants of Ishmael and Isaac (each have 12 tribes); the birth of Jacob and Esau—the prophecy about them
Gen. 26: Isaac is blessed; 3rd endangerment story; tensions arise as Isaac prospers in a land not his own; vs. 34 – reference to Esau with Hittite woman (outsiders)
Gen. 27: the deception of Rebekah and Jacob; vs. 39ff—the blessing “not blessing” of Esau; vs.46—like vs. 34 of Gen. 26—another kind of insert, Rebekah complaining about Hittite women
Gen. 28: Esau marries another “outsider”; vs. 10ff—Jacob’s first dream
Gen. 29 and 30—Jacob sets out; his love of Rachel, but the deception of Laban; the “fertility” contests—Leah, Zilpah; Rachel, Bilpah; Jacob asking to return home and all the consequences
Gen. 31: Jacob told to leave; gets Rachel and Leah and all the children, etc. to go with him; vs.19, vs. 31-42—the deception of Rachel about the household gods
Gen. 32: Jacob preparing to meet Esau; vs. 22ff: Jacob wrestling
Gen. 33: Jacob meets Esau; Esau is forgiving
Gen. 34: the rape of Dinah –the violence of Simeon and Levi; a contemporary “read”—giving voice to Dinah is the novel, The Red Tent; note that Gen. 34 ends with a question and no transition into Gen. 35
Gen. 35: Rachel dies in childbirth with Benjamin; vs. 22 Reuben “lays” with his father’s concubines; vs. 29 – Isaac dies
Gen. 36—Esau’s descendants
Gen. 37, 39-48: Joseph story
Gen. 38:--Judah/Tamar; Levirate Law; genealogy of Jesus—Mt. 1—note the women in this genealogy