In the beginning...

• When God began to create the heaven and the earth---the earth was at that time without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep---then God said: Let there be light….

• Creation out of nothing?

Signs of the Priestly Writer

• God

• Six days/seven days (God keeps sabbath)

• Be fruitful and multiply--9:1

• Vegetarian diet; 9:3

• Elleh toledoth

• Remoteness of God vs. immanence of Yahweh in chaps 2-3

• “Creates” vs acts, forms, breathes, plants

• male and female vs. the man and his wife

• Wild animals of the earth; animals of the field (2:19)

The Days of Creation

• Day One: Let there be light

• Day Two: “firmament”

• Day Three: land and vegetation

• Day Four: big one, little one…and also the stars

• Day Five: birds and fish

• Day Six: animals and man-woman

The Sabbath

• Focus moves from heaven to earth

• artificiality of 7-day structure (8 creation events)

• 7 regular days in a regular 7-day week

• If God rests, why not we? (counter cultural)

• Exod 31:12-17: Sabbath as sign of covenant

Enuma elish (when on high…)

• Ti’amat and Kingu challenge divine council

• Marduk elected king of the gods (word)

• Defeats Ti’amat; Kingu imprisoned

• creation of earth and sky from Ti’amat

• gods complain about work; Marduk creates humans out of blood of Kingu to work in place of gods; city of Babylon and temple of Marduk

Contrast between Babylonian and Biblical Worldviews

• political function--rise of city of Babylon

• Conflict among gods; Genesis--only birdies, beasties, and fishies

• power of word…in Babylon and in Israel’s exile

• transcendent God (no sex, magic)

• does creation “end” in space (temple) or in time?

Message to Israel in exile

• word--power behind God’s promise = Genesis 9; only reliable basis for faith

• Be fruitful and multiply

• vs. astrology

The human vocation

• anthropology: humans are evil and slaves in Enuma elish vs. “very good” and royal vocation in Genesis 1

• Psalm 8

• image of God--rulership. We are God’s good creatures

Toledoth = Generations

• Heaven and earth (2:4a)

• Adam (5:1)*• Noah (6:9)• Sons of Noah (10:1)*• Shem (11:10)*

• Terah (11:27)*• Ishmael (25:12)*• Isaac (25:19)• Esau/Edom (36:1, 9)*• Jacob (37:2)• [Aaron and Moses--

Numbers 3]

Asterisk = followed by genealogyItalics = no longer center stage

Creation and evolution

• Variety of biblical pictures (Gen 1 and 2; Yahweh vs the sea--Isa 27:1-2; 54:9-11; Psa 74:12-17; 89:1-14; 25)

• Genesis 1 is truthful expression within one ancient worldview

• I believe that God made ME and all creatures• How do we affirm creation within early 21st

century science?

The Structural Beauty of Genesis 1

• 7 x “created” (1:1, 21, 27-27-27, 2:3, 4)

• 7x good: light, land and seas, vegetation, heavenly bodies, sea monsters and birds, animals, everything was very good

• Blessings announced:– 1:22 first biological life--fish and birds– 1:28 man and woman--but not land animals– 2:3 the seventh day

7 elements in descriptions of days

– God said– Let there be– It was so– God separated…God made– Word of blessing or naming– God saw it was good– Evening and morning