The first cutting of flesh took place in the flood (Genesis 9:11). The second was the cutting of flesh in circumcision (Genesis 17:14), particularly the cutting off of those who refuse to cut the flesh. Circumcision is a sign of the division of the human race, its cutting into Jew and Gentile. . . . . Continue Reading »
Why is the creation account in Genesis 1:1-2:3 outside the toledothic structure of the book as a whole? The reason is bound up with the meaning of “toledoth.” Rooted in the word for “beget,” it means “the begettings of” or “the product . . . . Continue Reading »
A stab at discerning a pattern in the Genesis toledoth sections: Creation, 1:1-2:3 1. Generations of heaven and earth, 2:4-4:26 (beginnings, along with fall in Eden and Cain’s fratricide) 2. Generations of Adam, 5:1-6:8 (genealogy with ages) 3. Generations of Noah, 6:9-9:29 (lengthy . . . . Continue Reading »
Genesis 10 is a fascinating passage, full of tantalizing tidbits of ancient history and of intersections between the biblical record and ancient mythology and history. Japhet is the Hebrew equivalent of Iapetus, one of the Titans in Homer and Hesiod, son of Ouranos and Gaia. One of . . . . Continue Reading »
Cain’s descendants build cities, develop metallurgy and music, tame flocks. Seth’s descendants have nothing but dates and numbers. That is to say: Cain has all the stuff, but time belongs to Seth. . . . . Continue Reading »
Here’s a sketchy, general structural analysis of Genesis 4. A. Adam knows Eve, vv 1-2 (Cain born/Abel born//Abel flocks/Cain ground) B. Cain and Abel, vv 3-16 C. Cain knows wife, v 17-18 B’. Lamech, vv 19-24 A’. Adam knows Eve, vv 25-26 B breaks down as follows: A. Offerings to . . . . Continue Reading »
In response to my earlier post about Walsh’s analysis of Abram’s exodus in Genesis 12, a friend, Kelly Kerr, sent along the following outline of Gen. 12:4-13:18: A. a1. Abram departs Haran (12:4) a2. Abram, Lot, and all their possessions and people acquired while in Haran . . . . Continue Reading »
In the table of nations in Genesis 10, we’re told that from the descendants of Japheth, the “coastlands of the nations were divided from their lands” (v. 5). The chapter ends on a similar note: “These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their . . . . Continue Reading »
Walsh notes the unusual repetition of the imperative lek (“go”) in Genesis 12:1: ” lek-leka from your father’s house.” He observes that the only other use of this particular form in the OT comes in Genesis 22:2, where Abraham is told, ” lek-leka to the land . . . . Continue Reading »
Genesis 12:10-20 is clearly an exodus story, but Jerome Walsh ( Style and Structure in Biblical Hebrew Narrative ) points out that the exodus story is told chiastically. The following is a modified version of his outline: A. Abram in Egypt to escape famine, 12:10 B. Sarai taken to harem, . . . . Continue Reading »
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