Introduction to a Study in Genesis

On Sundays this blog pauses in the chapter-a-day approach to the Old Testament and instead explores some general topic related to the current study text.  Today we take a broad look at the book of Genesis and describe some additional resources for the study of this fascinating book.

The book of Genesis ("Beginnings") opens the Bible to describe the creation and motivation for the entire universe.  The book lays out the role of the Creator in the universe and the Creator's relationship with mankind.  It has a particular goal.

Reading Scripture Correctly

The first thing one should notice in reading Genesis (or any of the five books of Moses, that is, the Torah) is how strange it is -- how different were these ancient cultures! Polygamy was so common as to described without comment.  When Rachel can't bear children, she asks her husband to sleep with her maid.  When Tamar can't have a husband, she sets up as a prostitute.  There is no view of modern science or democracy or civil rights.  People who are oppressed cry out and God answers them, but often in ways we do not understand.  John Walton, in his commentary on Genesis (NIV Application Commentary, page 90), cautions us against "intellectual imperialism".  He warns that the modern reader needs to let the text speak, to attempt to understand what the text meant to the Ancient Near East cultures, especially to the Hebrews.  If we are to read Scripture correctly, we must seek to understand what it meant to the ancient Israelites. (I will say more on this in a future blog on the Genesis and Science.)

The Bible Project has a variety of videos on Genesis, with this emphasis. See, for example, see this video on Genesis 1.

Walton sees Genesis, indeed the Torah, as a history of God's covenant with humankind, of His relationships with humans.  It begins with the Creation and the special design and responsibilities of humans in Genesis 1:26. The story continues (Chapters 2-11) through the Fall and the evil that follows, through a prehistory which includes the salvation of Noah (chapter 5) and the diaspora caused by the Tower of Babel (chapter 11.)  Chapters 12-36 then cover the special choice of Abraham and his descendants and his covenant with that family.  Chapters 37-50 described God's intervention in Jacob's family by providing protection and rest in Egypt.

This is a covenant history, covering episodic events and covenants of God with the people of Israel.  It is not a philosophical treatise.  Events are described, often without critique or explanation.

Online Resources

There are a variety of excellent resources for a study of Genesis.  Below are some that I recommend.  (With the exception of the work of Robert Alter, all of these resources would fit within the orthodox evangelical Christian worldview.)

Any video by the Bible Project is short and interesting -- and excellent. I will mention specific Bible Project videos at other times.

There are several free online classes in Genesis.  So far I have not found anything to rival the general short videos presented by the Bible Project.  Here are a few free online classes I have found by an internet search.

1. There a short course listed at the Gospel Coalition.  It begins with some Bible Project videos which are always exceptional.
2. Dallas Theological Seminary has a free online class in Genesis. That class is by Dr. James Allman.  It consists of ten half-hour videos of Allman lecturing, without supplemental slides or other aids.  At the end of each lecture there are brief notes and quizzes. I found the ten sermons on Genesis insightful at times but I eventually skipped the lectures and just skimmed the notes and took the quizzes.  (I've been involved in enough boring lectures throughout my teaching career -- I do not need to be on the students' side of any!)

I have looked at some other lectures on Genesis that I do not recommend, and so they are not mentioned here.

Commentaries on Genesis

I am enjoying the NIV Application Commentary on Genesis by John Walton.  This is a deep dive into Genesis (700+ pages) which attempts to explain both the meaning of the Hebrew words and the message the text would have communicated to the Hebrew people.  This and the translation by Alter (below) are my main resources for investigating below the surface of the text of Genesis.

One of my favorite commentaries on Genesis is the commentary Genesis: Translation and Commentary by Robert Alter. Alter carefully translates the Hebrew of the original documents in an attempt to carry not just accuracy but the emotions in these awesome stories.  Dr. Tim Hall and I taught a Sunday School class in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, using this commentary as a major resource. (I'm grateful to Tim for pointing me to Robert Alter!)

There are a variety of other excellent commentaries. At one point (long ago) I worked through the Tyndale commentary Genesis by Derek Kidner.

There are online commentaries provided by EasyEnglishBible, a charity based in the United Kingdom. They have two online commentaries on Genesis:

1. God's Ancient People, by Alun Owen 
2. It All Begins with God, by Marie Wetherill and Keith Simons

These commentaries are easy to read, with deliberately simple language intended for those for whom English is a second language. The Old Testament text is included in the commentary. 

(The daily material I post always has the Old Testament text, from the New International Version (NIV), italicized in blue.  My comments on the text will be in black, with hyperlinks in pink.)

I will add more on a variety of topics as we work our way through Genesis, a chapter a day. 

Postscript

Just after I published this post, Christianity Today magazine published "Reading yourself into Genesis" as part of a Genesis January.

 
Feel free to recommend other resources in the comments!