GENESIS

• FIRST BOOK OF THE BIBLE

• FIRST BOOK OF THE LAW

AUTHOR

MOSES

Jewish Tradition Jesus accepted Moses’ authorship

(Mark 10:2-9; Luke 24:27)

PROBLEMS WITH AUTHORSHIP

Moses born 300 years after the Book of Genesis ends.

Oral tradition of ancient cultures excellent in two particular areas:• Genealogies (family tree)• Heroic saga (great men of the past)

PROBLEMS WITH AUTHORSHIP

Genesis 1:1 to Genesis 2:3

There was no man to observe and record the creation of the universe.

Could only have been by godly revelation, as with John on the isle of Patmos (Revelation 1:10, 11, 19).

PROBLEMS WITH AUTHORSHIP

Evidence of godly revelation lies in observance of the Sabbath.

Exodus 20:10, 11

Nobody in Genesis kept the Sabbath – they did not know about it.

DATE OF WRITING

ABOUT 1450 BC

MEANING• Hebrew: “bereshith” - In the beginning

• Latin (Septuagint): “The book of the Generation”

“These are the generations of …” begins the sequel of what begins AFTER that event or life, i.e. “these are descended from …”

2:4 Heavens and Earth

6:9 Noah

10:1 Noah’ sons

11:10 Shem

11:27 Terah

25:12 Ishmael

25:19 Isaac

36:1 Esau

36:9 Esau

37:2 Jacob

SIMPLICITY

• There are 76 root words in chapter 1.

• All languages on earth contain these 76 words.

• It is the easiest chapter in the whole Bible to translate.

MATHEMATICAL PROPERTIES

• Genesis chapter 1 has three numbers which occur often: 3, 7 and 10.

• 3: create, call by name, makes, blesses.

• 7: God sees that it is good, number of days, first and last sentences have 7 Hebrew letters each.

• 10: commands (“Let there be…”).

COMPLEXITY

• After the first “tau” (T) letters 49, 98 and 147 are O, R and H, spelling TORH (Torah).

• The same happens in Exodus.

• In Numbers and Deuteronomy, after the first H, letters 49, 98 and 147 are R, O, and T, spelling HROT (Torah) backwards.

COMPLEXITY

• In Leviticus (the middle book of the Torah), after the first “yod” (Y), letters 7, 14 and 21 are H, W and H, spelling YHWH (Yahweh).

• TORH TORH YHWH HROT HROT

• The Torah always points to God.

3 MAJOR DIVISIONS

• GENERATION 1:1 to 2:25• DEGENERATION 3:1 to 11:32• REGENERATION 12:1 to 50:26

THEME

Beginnings or Origins

• “Law of first mention” gives the proper context and original meaning of the concept/word/idea

• God, Trinity, Universe, Man, Satan, Sin, Salvation, Faith, Prayer, Society, Covenant, Sabbath, Tithes, Priesthood, Discipline, Prison, Judgement, etc.

ATTACKS

No other book in the Bible has been attacked as much as Genesis because everything has its foundation in Genesis

WHAT GENESIS IS NOT

• A book of myths and genealogies: the people who lived in Genesis are as real as Jesus and David.

• The history of the entire human race – just one family (the family of Christ).

• An all-encompassing scientific and historic manual: it is a selective history from God’s point of view.

NAMES OF GOD

• God: Elohim (highest). It is a plural word (also “El” or “Elah”) 1:1 and 1:26.

• LORD: Jehovah (or JHWH) or Yahweh.The self-existing one; He who is who He is;the eternal I AM.2:4

• Lord: Adonai (master)15:2

IN THE BEGINNING

• God was there before the beginning, before the universe began. He is the Beginner of all things.

• Psalm 90:2

GOD’S PLANS BEFORE CREATION

• 1 Peter 1:20 Christ was ordained to die before God created the universe.

• Ephesians 1:4 God chose you to be part of His family before creating the universe.

• Ephesians 1:3-14 sets out God’s plans for the universe before He created anything.

GOD AS CREATOR

• God always is/was/will be.

• His creation (space and time) is limited finite.

• It exists within Him as a drop in the ocean.1 Kings 8:27

PROOF OF GOD’S EXISTENCE

• There is none in Scripture, which automatically assumes that God exists

• Psalm 14:1

• Hebrews 11:6

IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH

• Refutes Atheism (“there is no God”) and Agnosticism (“I cannot know if God exists”) by postulating the existence of God.

IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH

• Refutes Materialism (only matter is real) by distinguishing between God and material creation.

IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH

• Refutes Pantheism (everything is God) by revealing a personal creator, not a “first cause”, who creates something separate from Himself.

IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH

• Refutes Polytheism (there are many gods) by revealing that there is only one God.

THE REST OF GENESIS (AND THE BIBLE)

• Refutes Deism (God is a one-off creator: His creation is like a wound-up, springloaded device, slowly running down) by showing how God personally intervenes to look after His creation.

WHO IS GOD?

The Nature of God

• Personal• All-powerful• Uncreated – the One who always existed• Creative• Orderly• Good• Communicator• Independent

GENESIS (and hence, the Bible), is different to other religious books.

It begins with God and deals with God’s revelation TO man, rather than man’s search for or discovery of God

CREATION

• “Bara” (create) means “to bring into being”, i.e. to cause to exist from nothing

• 1:1, 1:21, 1:27 (three times)

• 2:3, and 2:4

CREATION

God formed the universe out of nothing!

• Hebrews 11:3• John 1:1-4• Colossians 1:16-17

HEAVEN AND EARTH

“shamayim” - heaven (heaved up things)

Used to denote:• Sky, atmosphere, clouds (Deuteronomy 11:17)• Space, where sun, stars, etc. exist (Genesis 26:4)• The place where God “lives” (Psalm 11:4)

THE AGE OF THE EARTH

• How old is the earth?

• Genesis 1:1 says the earth was created “in the beginning”, however long ago that was.

• The Bible does not give a definite time or age.

THE AGE OF THE EARTH

• Two schools of scientific thought exist.

• Old earth (about 4,5 billion years).• Young earth (less than 10 000 years).

OLD EARTH

• Measured size of the universe.

• Measured expansion of the universe (Hubble Law).

• Radiometric dating of rocks.

• Background radiation – current temperature of the universe.

YOUNG EARTH• Radiogenic carbon (C-14): <10 000 y.

• Radiogenic helium: <175 000 y.

• Meteoric dust (Nickel content): <9 000 y.

• Short period comets: <10 000 y.

• Earth’s magnetic field: <10 000 y.

• Moon dust thickness: <10 000 y.

WITHOUT FORM AND VOID

“Waste and empty” (Genesis 1:2).

This description of the earth only (not the heavens) could have two interpretations:

An explanation of the process of creation.

A description of the destruction of earth after its creation (“was” can be translated “became”).

WITHOUT FORM AND VOIDThose who believe in the second explanation, believe the earth was destroyed as a consequence of Lucifer’s fall from Heaven:

Isaiah 14:12-16

Ezekiel 28:12-27

Luke 10:18

However, Romans 5:12 states that death entered the world through Adam.

1 Corinthians 15:45 claims Adam was the first man.