Introduction to Old Testament Studies Part 2

Pentateuch

The story of how God restored mankind, lovingly and graciously redeeming them out of sin’s slavery and raising up a people though whom He would touch the whole world. Pentateuch is crucial to the rest of the Old Testament and the whole Bible

Pentateuch means “5 Books”. It is the Book of the Five Scrolls

In the Hebrew Bible it is referred to as Torah: “Instruction” or “Law”.

The books of the Torah which is what you will probably hear me say to refer to this section of the Bible. I am not referencing anything else just the five books of the Bible when I say “Torah”.

Genesis - “Beginnings”: Bereshith - “In Beginnings”

Exodus - “Departure” : Shemoth - “Names”

Leviticus - “Priestly Things” : Wayoria - “And He Called”

Numbers - “Census” : Bemidbar - “In The Wilderness”

Deuteronomy - “Second Law” : Debarim - “Words”

Who Wrote the Pentateuch

If you answered we don’t know then you are correct. It is anonymously written. The author is not stated. Tradition holds that Moses, A primary character in 4 of the 5 books wrote or had them written. He would have been able to read and write, being trained in the court. He is the political and religious leader of Israel.

Questions about Mosaic Authorship

Anachronisms

Statements used out of time. He couldn’t have written about his death and after unless it was a prophecy. Some would argue that if he didn’t prophecy then he didn’t write any of it because it is of the same literary style

Differing terms

Deity = God

Elohim vs YHWH

Horeb = Sinai Same place with different traditions on the name

Doublets

Two stories about the same event.

Moses is sometimes referred to in the 3rd person

Documentary Hypothesis

These questions and others have lead scholars to accept what is known as the Documentary Hypothesis. I am going to tell you what it is and then I will tell you why I don’t like it.

Julius Wellhousen developed this, and he states there are four primary sources.

Four Primary Sources

J - YHWHist

Used YHWH. Jacob is referred to as Israel. Considered colorful writer. God is anthropomorphic: With Human Terms. Genesis, Exodus, Numbers. Would be written around 950 BC

E – Elohist

Use Elohim. Refers to Jacob. God is Spirit. Sees God working through people. Genesis 12-50, Exodus, Numbers. Would have been written around 750 BC

D – Deuteronomist

Associated with Deuteronomy. Written around 550 BC

P – Priestly

Concerned with Cult, or System of religious beliefs and sources. Would have been written around 450 BC?See the book of Leviticus

Weaknesses of the this Hypothesis

J E Source

Uncertainty of the P dating

S - Salomon Source

Moses might have used other sources or had it written

I also don’t like it because it looks at the scripture from that potted plant point of view trying to tear down the bible into smaller and smaller points that come often from anti-Semitic (anti Jewish) perspective. It does not look at the Bible the way Jesus himself would have seen the TaNaK.

Zechariah 7:8–14 LEB

8 And the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah, saying, 9 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘Judge with trustworthy justice, and show steadfast love and compassion to one another. 10 You must not oppress the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, and the needy. You must not devise evil in your heart against one another.’ 11 But they refused to listen, and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears from listening. 12 They made their hearts adamant in order not to hear the law and the words that Yahweh of hosts had sent by his spirit through the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from Yahweh of hosts. 13 ‘Thus, just as I called and they would not hear, so they will call and I will not hear,’ says Yahweh of hosts. 14 ‘And I scattered them with a wind among all the nations that they had not known; the land was made desolate behind them— no one crossing through it or returning—and they made the desirable land a desolation.’ ”

I want to look at the book of Zechariah, Zechariah 7, look what he says here.

Like do the Ten Commandments.

"This is what Yahweh of host said, but our fathers, they refuse to pay attention. They turned a stubborn shoulder. They stopped their ears from hearing, they made their hearts like a rock so that they could not hear the Torah and the word which Yahweh of host sent by His Spirit through the former prophets.

He's reflecting on the whole thing before. Look at this vocabulary. He doesn't even name Moses, does he?

In Zechariah 9, the Torah and the Prophets all come from this category of the prophets who are guided by God's Spirit.

Zechariah thinks the prophetic authority comes from the spirit who's speaking through the whole chain of generations of prophets and all of the prophets to come after him. And so he just attributes the origin of the Torah and Prophets to the prophet guided by the Spirit.

It's not the person; the tradition.

Their conviction is that through that tradition, God is speaking to His people, and still speaking to this generation here today. This also gives us a category for Moses, both being a contributor to the Torah, but not the only author of the Torah, which is very clear in certain sections of the Torah, where the voice speaking is speaking from a vantage point long after Moses. Looking back on Moses.

What we're beginning to see even within these texts is the texts recognize that they had a developing life over the course of many generations. And the Torah didn't just pop into existence in the form we know it on the fords of the Jordan River and then Joshua just toted that around. The Torah that he had was long enough to write on some stones.

And when Zechariah talks about it, he talks about the Torah that comes from the prophets, along with the other collection.

This is the picture that the Hebrew Bible has.

Genesis

Genesis is divided into two sections

Genesis 1-11

Primeval History. History before History

Genesis 12-50

The Patriarchal Narrative. That is the story of the Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph

Genesis 1:1-2:4a

Genesis 1:1–2:4a LEB

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth— Now the earth was formless and empty, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light!” And there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good, and God caused there to be a separation between the light and between the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. And God said, “Let there be a vaulted dome in the midst of the waters, and let it cause a separation between the waters.” So God made the vaulted dome, and he caused a separation between the waters which were under the vaulted dome and between the waters which were over the vaulted dome. And it was so. And God called the vaulted dome “heaven.” And there was evening, and there was morning, a second day. And God said, “Let the waters under heaven be gathered to one place, and let the dry ground appear.” And it was so. And God called the dry ground “earth,” and he called the collection of the waters “seas.” And God saw that it was good. And God said, “Let the earth produce green plants that will bear seed—fruit trees bearing fruit in which there is seed—according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. And the earth brought forth green plants bearing seed according to its kind, and trees bearing fruit in which there was seed according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a third day. And God said, “Let there be lights in the vaulted dome of heaven to separate day from night, and let them be as signs and for appointed times, and for days and years, and they shall be as lights in the vaulted dome of heaven to give light on the earth.” And it was so. And God made two great lights, the greater light to rule the day and the smaller light to rule the night, and the stars. And God placed them in the vaulted dome of heaven to give light on the earth and to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day. And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly over the earth across the face of the vaulted dome of heaven. So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kind, and every bird with wings according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.” And there was evening, and there was morning, a fifth day. And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kind: cattle and moving things, and wild animals according to their kind.” And it was so. So God made wild animals according to their kind and the cattle according to their kind, and every creeping thing of the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God said, “Let us make humankind in our image and according to our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of heaven, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every moving thing that moves upon the earth.” So God created humankind in his image, in the likeness of God he created him, male and female he created them. And God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of heaven, and over every animal that moves upon the earth.” And God said, “Look—I am giving to you every plant that bears seed which is on the face of the whole earth, and every kind of tree that bears fruit. They shall be yours as food.” And to every kind of animal of the earth and to every bird of heaven, and to everything that moves upon the earth in which there is life I am giving every green plant as food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made and, behold, it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning, a sixth day. And heaven and earth and all their array were finished. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. And God blessed the seventh day, and he sanctified it, because on it he rested from all his work of creating that there was to do. These are the generations of heaven and earth when they were created, in the day that Yahweh God made earth and heaven—

Creation Account. Written in an elevated prose.

In Beginning

In the beginning God created. Bara, to create. Only God can Create. We can be creative, we can make but only God can Create. Bara occurs 5 times in Genesis 1 and another 5 in Genesis 2:4 and 6:7. In which, God is always the subject of the verb, and there is never a reference to any material used in creating in this account.

Creatio Ex Nihilo: Latin “Creation out of Nothing”

Formless and Void

Earth was formless and void

Tohu Vavohu: Hebrew “Formless and Void”

Gap theory

made famous by the Scofield Reference Bible of 1909 and 1917. This idea comes from the idea that Haytah can mean both “Became” or “was”. Thus, Earth became formless and void. God destroyed the earth once before. It is an attempt to deal with science. Things like Dinosaurs and Coal.

What would this mean?

If this is the case do we see it as God just jumbled things together as is suggested by some? Was it a cataclysmic event? Like an asteroid striking the earth and causing earthquakes and volcano eruptions and then a dust and ash cloud covers the earth causing all life to go extinct and the earth goes into an ice age? Then when Noah’s flood happens it the flooding after an ice age? How many times had it happened before? Were there humanoid creatures before?

Other Biblical support is slim but there are a few that people point to

Deuteronomy 32:4 CSB

The Rock—his work is perfect; all his ways are just. A faithful God, without bias, he is righteous and true.

The Idea from this verse is a newly created world “should” not be Formless and Void because his work is perfect

Isaiah 45:18 CSB

For this is what the Lord says— the Creator of the heavens, the God who formed the earth and made it, the one who established it (he did not create it to be a wasteland, but formed it to be inhabited)— he says, “I am the Lord, and there is no other.

Psalm 104:30 CSB

When you send your breath, they are created, and you renew the surface of the ground.

The argument here is that the Spirit that was above the Waters was renewing it.

2 Peter 3:5–6 CSB

They deliberately overlook this: By the word of God the heavens came into being long ago and the earth was brought about from water and through water. Through these the world of that time perished when it was flooded.

This is the most common support however. The problem I have with this argument from 2 Peter is that if you read the letter as a whole you will see that this passage is dealing with the flood of Noah

After looking at all the verses it all comes down to one work Hayetah. Tradition says was, but is tradition right?

Yom = Day

5th most common word in the Bible

Period of Light

24 hours

Period of undetermined time

Humphrey’s a young earth scientist. Suggest the gravitational fields would be heavier at the time of creation so a day today is not as a day as of then. But it would all seem like a 24 hour period to those present, but as we look back it would seem longer. The heaver the gravitational field the slower time passes According to relativity

Water

Water is symbolic of Chaos. God Makes a break from chaos.

Seven Days of Creation

Day 1 - Light

Day 2 - Heavens /Sea

Day 3 - Land/Vegetation

Day 4 - Luminaries

Day 5 - Fish/Foul

Day 6 - Animals/Humanities

Day 7 - Rest

Humanity

Imitatio Dei: Latin “Image of God”

Humanity was made in the image of God.

What does that mean?

Physical

Capacity to know and worship

Relationship

Free Will

We are his image. We rule with his image as we represent His presence here on Earth.

Genesis 1:27–28 LEB

27 So God created humankind in his image, in the likeness of God he created him, male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of heaven, and over every animal that moves upon the earth.”

He created human kind and made us kings and queens in partnership with Him and this is the crux of the Bible as we sin we're no longer representing him we're becoming less than who we are less than the image of God and Jesus is needed to restore that our sin is trying not to partner with him but overthrow him

Main plot line of the Bible is how is God going to get mankind to fill this partnership and the subplot line is God chooses one family of wrong and his family to represent and from his family to come down and and be the representatives that will lead to a multi-ethanol melt on national that we begin to see not until the letters of Paul and it comes into a place in our image today

Enuma elish

Babylonian creation Epic

I read from The Enuma Elish:

Tablet I

1   When the heavens above did not exist, 2   And earth beneath had not come into being — 3   There was Apsû, the first in order, their begetter, 4   And demiurge Tia-mat, who gave birth to them all; 5   They had mingled their waters together

Tablet VI

1   When Marduk heard the gods' speech 2   He conceived a desire to accomplish clever things. 3   He opened his mouth addressing Ea, 4   He counsels that which he had pondered in his heart, 5   "I will bring together blood to form bone, 6   I will bring into being Lullû, whose name shall be 'man'. 7   I will create Lullû—man 8   On whom the toil of the gods will be laid that they may rest. 9   I will skilfully alter the organization of the gods: 10   Though they are honoured as one, they shall be divided into two."

Similar creation account Being similar many people will try to tell you that it came first and the Bible stole it.

Stephen Bertman: 

Both Genesis and Enuma Elsih are religious texts which detail and celebrate cultural origins: Genesis describes the origin and founding of the Jewish people under the guidance of the Lord; Enuma Elish recounts the origin and founding of Babylon under the leadership of the god Marduk. Contained in each work is a story of how the cosmos and man were created. Each work begins by describing the watery chaos and primeval darkness that once filled the universe. Then light is created to replace the darkness. Afterward, the heavens are made and in them heavenly bodies are placed. Finally, man is created. These similarities notwithstanding, the two accounts are more different than alike. (312)

But we shouldn’t be surprised that it does sound similar. We must remember when we read this that the Bible is a dialog with the religion of the time. Which include the Babylonians and the Egyptians. Seth and Horus from Egypt will also be compared to the stories found in the Bible. And you will hear me make reference to these stories through out these times we spend together.

I like how JRR Tolkien puts it when talking to CS Lewis.

Pagan myths were, in fact, God expressing himself through the minds of poets, and using the images of their “mythopoeia” to express fragments of his eternal truth? Christianity is exactly the same thing with the enormous difference that the poet who invented it was God Himself, and the image He used were real men and actual history.

Carpenter, Humphrey. The inklings: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams and their Friends. Harper Collins publishers, 1978.

One of the leading things that separates the Old Testament from most other creation accounts because it does not attempt to explain where God came from.

Hebrew Cosmology

Did the cosmology come before or after this tradition came about?

If it came before then the 1st chapter can be seen as just an explanation of how they believed the world came to be about. If It came after then there idea of cosmetology comes from their limited idea of science in conjunction to this passage

Genesis 2:24b-25

Genesis 2:4b–25 CSB

These are the records of the heavens and the earth, concerning their creation. At the time that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, no shrub of the field had yet grown on the land, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not made it rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground. But mist would come up from the earth and water all the ground. Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being. The Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he placed the man he had formed. The Lord God caused to grow out of the ground every tree pleasing in appearance and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden, as well as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river went out from Eden to water the garden. From there it divided and became the source of four rivers. The name of the first is Pishon, which flows through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. Gold from that land is pure; bdellium and onyx are also there. The name of the second river is Gihon, which flows through the entire land of Cush. The name of the third river is Tigris, which runs east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.” Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper corresponding to him.” The Lord God formed out of the ground every wild animal and every bird of the sky, and brought each to the man to see what he would call it. And whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the sky, and to every wild animal; but for the man no helper was found corresponding to him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to come over the man, and he slept. God took one of his ribs and closed the flesh at that place. Then the Lord God made the rib he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man. And the man said: This one, at last, is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called “woman,” for she was taken from man. This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh. Both the man and his wife were naked, yet felt no shame.

Second creation account

Is this a totally different account or part of the story above.

Genesis 2:5 CSB

no shrub of the field had yet grown on the land, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not made it rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground.

Does this contradict the first account?

Does this passage refer the idea that nothing that needed cultivation was growing, but other things Were growing

Shrub - This word in Hebrew is only found in two other passages Genesis 21:15 and Job 30:4-7. These two verse don’t offer a lot of help in this regard.

Was Adam created before the plants were and rest of man created on sixth day?

Formation of Adam

Genesis 2:4–7 LEB

These are the generations of heaven and earth when they were created, in the day that Yahweh God made earth and heaven—before any plant of the field was on earth, and before any plant of the field had sprung up, because Yahweh God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no human being to cultivate the ground, but a stream would rise from the earth and water the whole face of the ground—when Yahweh God formed the man of dust from the ground, and he blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

These verses does seem to establish that even the wild plants would not grow because it was so dry. There is also no Adam (man) to work the Adamah (ground).

But could there have been plants elsewhere but not here because of the no water?

God is creating a special place. The Garden of Eden. God formed man out of sand, like sand castle it would seem and put the Breath of life in him.

The Breath of life is an idea found in Egyptian text. In the Instructions of Merikare, The god Re “made the breath of life for their nostrils”

God created in his image.

Animals also have the breath of life but God breath his own breath into man

Garden

Genesis 2:8–17 LEB

And Yahweh God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And Yahweh God caused to grow from the ground every tree that was pleasing to the sight and good for food. And the tree of life was in the midst of the garden, along with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Now a river flowed out from Eden that watered the garden, and from there it diverged and became four branches. The name of the first is the Pishon. It went around all the land of Havilah, where there is gold. (The gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stones are there.) And the name of the second is Gihon. It went around all the land of Cush. And the name of the third is Tigris. It flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. And Yahweh God took the man and set him in the garden of Eden to cultivate it and to keep it. And Yahweh God commanded the man, saying, “From every tree of the garden you may freely eat, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die.”

Garden not a house garden. This would have trees and animals and would cover a large area of ground. Like a park with food in it.

Located in between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates.

Two Trees

We usually just think of one tree.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil

This is the one we usually think of. This is the one that the were told not to touch.

The other is the tree of life

Fruit of this tree seems to extends life. Eating it regularly would bring eternal life.

Man commanded to take care of the earth

Genesis 2:17 LEB

but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die.”

verse 17 is a command and a threat. Don’t eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil you will die.

Question that is always brought up “why didn’t they die?

They did. It wasn’t in a way that they were expecting.

Eve

Genesis 2:18–25 LEB

Then Yahweh God said, “it is not good that the man is alone. I will make for him a helper as his counterpart.” And out of the ground Yahweh God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and he brought each to the man to see what he would call it. And whatever the man called that living creature was its name. And the man gave names to every domesticated animal and to the birds of heaven and to all the wild animals. But for the man there was not found a helper as his counterpart. And Yahweh God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man. While he slept, he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh where it had been. And Yahweh God fashioned the rib which he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man. And the man said, “She is now bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh; she shall be called ‘Woman,’ for she was taken from man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall cling to his wife, and they shall be as one flesh. And the man and his wife, both of them, were naked, and they were not ashamed.

Man is looking for a helper. Helper is the same word used for God is my helper. To often we look at helper and we see sidekick. Like a lesser of. Not what is being said here. Helper Both can do it by themselves. Both are capable. But notice what is says, it is not good for a man is alone. We are there for each other, for the best results we are a team.

Animals not good enough

Gilgamesh Epic, one of the stories found in the Ennuma Elish, Enkidu the first half-man, half- beast. Was content with animal companionship until he is seduced by a prostitute, who was sent to capture him.

God caused man to fall asleep. Took his rib and created woman, called ishah. Created out of ish. For this reason man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife. Early Israelite society woman left her father and mother and joining the man’s tribe didn’t happen often. Woman would come to visit man and just live with her parents. This Passage speaks out against that type of behavior.

Man and woman are to live together not just make conjugal visits.

naked

they had nothing to hide from each other or from anyone else. They needed no shame

The Fall Genesis 3

Genesis 3 LEB

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal which Yahweh God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God indeed say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat, but from the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, God said, ‘You shall not eat from it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die’.” But the serpent said to the woman, “You shall not surely die. For God knows that on the day you both eat from it, then your eyes will be opened and you both shall be like gods, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes, and the tree was desirable to make one wise, then she took from its fruit and she ate. And she gave it also to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed together fig leaves and they made for themselves coverings. Then they heard the sound of Yahweh God walking in the garden at the windy time of day. And the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Yahweh God among the trees of the garden. And Yahweh God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he replied, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid because I am naked, so I hid myself.” Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I forbade you to eat?” And the man replied, “The woman whom you gave to be with me—she gave to me from the tree and I ate.” Then Yahweh God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Then Yahweh God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you will be cursed more than any domesticated animal and more than any wild animal. On your belly you shall go and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. And I will put hostility between you and between the woman, and between your offspring and between her offspring; he will strike you on the head, and you will strike him on the heel.” To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bear children. And to your husband shall be your desire. And he shall rule over you.” And to Adam he said, “Because you listened to the voice of your wife and you ate from the tree from which I forbade you to eat, the ground shall be cursed on your account. In pain you shall eat from it all the days of your life. And thorns and thistles shall sprout for you, and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread, until your return to the ground. For from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” And the man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all life. And Yahweh God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skin, and he clothed them. And Yahweh God said, “Look—the man has become as one of us, to know good and evil. What if he stretches out his hand and takes also from the tree of life and eats, and lives forever?” And Yahweh God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. So he drove the man out, and placed cherubim east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming, turning sword to guard the way to the tree of life.

Fall of Man

Four D’s of Temptation

Disorientation (Geneses 3:1)

Distrust

Desire (for the Tree)

Death

Innocence died - Breaking the relationship with God. Breaking Relationship with others. Breaking relationship with ourselves. Sin broke the relationship

Genesis 3:1-7

Genesis 3:1–7 LEB

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal which Yahweh God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God indeed say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat, 3 but from the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, God said, ‘You shall not eat from it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die’.” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You shall not surely die. 5 For God knows that on the day you both eat from it, then your eyes will be opened and you both shall be like gods, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes, and the tree was desirable to make one wise, then she took from its fruit and she ate. And she gave it also to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed together fig leaves and they made for themselves coverings.

Serpent

Endowed with divine or semi-divine qualities. Emblem of health, fertility, immortality, occult wisdom, and chaotic evil. You can see it on top of the pharaoh’s head

In this passage we see that it is Crafty or Cunning

This description is neutral without good or evil. Not noted as being HaSatan the accuser or the adversary in this passage. It is just another wild animal the Lord Made. It wasn’t until later that It was associated with Devil. (Side Note The Term Devil or Satan are titles not names).

The concept of the devil begins to appear in second and first centuries B.C.E. Jewish texts. In 1 Enoch, the “angel” who “led Eve astray” and “showed the weapons of death to the children of men” was called Gadreel (not Satan).

Around the same time, the Wisdom of Solomon taught that “through the devil’s envy death entered the world, and those who are on his side suffer it.” Though this may very well be the earliest reference to Eden’s serpent as the devil, in neither text, nor in any document we have until after the New Testament, is satan clearly understood as the serpent in Eden.

At Qumran, though, Satan is the leader of the forces of darkness; his power is said to threaten humanity, and it was believed that salvation would bring the absence of Satan and evil.

By the first century C.E., Satan is adopted into the nascent(new) Christian movement, as ruler over a kingdom of darkness, an opponent and deceiver of Jesus (Mark 1:13), prince of the devils and opposing force to God (Luke 11:15–19; Matthew 12:24–27; Mark 3:22–23:26); Jesus’ ministry puts a temporary end to Satan’s reign (Luke 10:18) and the conversion of the gentiles leads them from Satan to God (Acts 26:18). Most famously, Satan endangers the Christian communities but will fall in Christ’s final act of salvation, described in detail in the book of Revelation.

But curiously, although the author of Revelation describes Satan as “the ancient serpent” (Revelation 12:9; 20:2), there is no clear link anywhere in the Bible between Satan and Eden’s talking snake. The ancient Near Eastern combat myth motif, exemplified in the battle between Marduk and Tiamat in Enuma Elish and Baal and Yam/Mot in ancient Canaan, typically depicted the bad guy as a serpent. The characterization of Leviathan in Isaiah 27 reflects such myths nicely:

On that day YHWH will punish

With his hard and big and strong sword

Leviathan the fleeing serpent,

Leviathan the twisted serpent,

And he will kill the dragon that is in the sea.

So the reference in Revelation 12:9 to Satan as “the ancient serpent” probably reflects mythical monsters like Leviathan rather than the clever, legged, talking creature in Eden.

In the New Testament, Satan and his demons have the power to enter and possess people; this is what is said to have happened to Judas (Luke 22:3; John 13:27; cf. Mark 5:12–13; Luke 8:30–32). But when Paul re-tells the story of Adam and Eve, he places the blame on the humans (Romans 5:18; cf. 1 Corinthians 15:21–22) and not on fallen angels, or on the serpent as Satan. Still, the conflation begged to be made, and it will seem natural for later Christian authors—Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Cyprian, Irenaeus and Augustine, for example—to assume Satan’s association with Eden’s talking snake. Most famously, in the 17th century, John Milton elaborates Satan’s role in the Garden poetically, in great detail in Paradise Lost.

But this connection is not forged anywhere in the Bible.

Is it the devil in some serpent form or is it a creature that is being used for devils purposes?

In Gnosticism the serpent is the hero. Gnostics are all about knowledge especially secrete knowledge. The serpent provided or lead the way.

Did God Really say that?

Serpent caused eve to doubt the integrity of God’s word and to reject its authority from God and his word

Genesis 2:17 LEB

but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die.”

God said you will surly die if you eat it

Genesis 3:3 LEB

3 but from the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, God said, ‘You shall not eat from it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die’.”

Woman says that they will die if they touch it or eat it.

The word there makes a big difference

The serpent capitalizes on it

“you will not surly die” Making death more of an abstract thing a not immediate threat that can be overcome with time. Instead tells her that she will become like God knowing good and evil

The tree itself had nothing wrong with it

God created everything Good

Did he put it there just to test?

Maybe

Maybe he put it there for man when he was old enough and ready. Man partook of it too early. Like a kid in the cookie jar. The cookies are good after dinner but bad before.

Eve’s Temptation

Eve saw that it looked good, ate, and gave to her husband. Who is apparently right beside her saying nothing. Was he there when all this started? How long did the serpent talk to her. Was it just once or broken up in to times.

We don’t know.

We do know that he was there and didn’t stop her from eating the fruit.

Now They had something to hide and were ashamed of their nakedness

Temptation of the World

1 John 2:16 - World

“The Lust of the Flesh”

“The lust of the eyes”

“The pride of life”

Genesis 3:6 - Adam

The tree was good for food

It was pleasant to the eyes

A tree desirable to make one wise

Luke 4:1-13 - Jesus

Command this stone to become bread

The devil showed him all the kingdom

Throw yourself down from here

Genesis 3:8-24

Genesis 3:8–24 LEB

8 Then they heard the sound of Yahweh God walking in the garden at the windy time of day. And the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Yahweh God among the trees of the garden. 9 And Yahweh God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he replied, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid because I am naked, so I hid myself.” 11 Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I forbade you to eat?” 12 And the man replied, “The woman whom you gave to be with me—she gave to me from the tree and I ate.” 13 Then Yahweh God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” 14 Then Yahweh God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you will be cursed more than any domesticated animal and more than any wild animal. On your belly you shall go and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 15 And I will put hostility between you and between the woman, and between your offspring and between her offspring; he will strike you on the head, and you will strike him on the heel.” 16 To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bear children. And to your husband shall be your desire. And he shall rule over you.” 17 And to Adam he said, “Because you listened to the voice of your wife and you ate from the tree from which I forbade you to eat, the ground shall be cursed on your account. In pain you shall eat from it all the days of your life. 18 And thorns and thistles shall sprout for you, and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread, until your return to the ground. For from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” 20 And the man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all life. 21 And Yahweh God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skin, and he clothed them. 22 And Yahweh God said, “Look—the man has become as one of us, to know good and evil. What if he stretches out his hand and takes also from the tree of life and eats, and lives forever?” 23 And Yahweh God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So he drove the man out, and placed cherubim east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming, turning sword to guard the way to the tree of life.

The Lord came to visit. The scriptures don’t tell us if this was a regular action or not

The Lord looks for them. God being all knowing already knew

Why ask, why act like he didn’t?

Give them a chance to admit where they were wrong.

God ask that we admit our sins (Confess)

Adam and Eve hid hid because, “I was naked”. They hid because they were ashamed. They had fallen

Adam - the woman you gave me. You gave her to me. It was her fault. The snake Lord the snake.

Human to pass the blame. As we follow this way of thinking we can’t help but blame God though we don’t say it. God created the snake after all.

Cursed

Curse of the snake

crawl on your belly. no more feet. snake is not harmful when on its belly it is when it is raised up that it is harmful

Dust of the earth is associated with the death. The dead eat dirt. The snake and man will always be fighting. It will kill you and you will kill him

Woman

Pain and anguish. This refers to the mental and physical pain though out the whole process of Childbearing

Her desire for her husband will put him in position of control. Woman ruled by men. Is that statement right?

Notice this is a curse or the result of sin. Not God’s absolute will. But because of sin

Man/Ground

Adamah is cursed because of Adam

Painful there is that Anguish again

The whole growing process with be painful. Where you once had it so easy

Naming of Eve

Ishah named Eve, hasn’t been named yet. Name means Living. Naming of Woman shows that he now rules over her.

Skin Garments

God knows they can’t stay in the Garden and they will now die. Still cares for them and gives them hope, by providing clothing for them. Notice: A Sacrifice was made as well, blood was spilt for their sin.

Out of Eden

God said he can’t be like one of us. This is pantheon or Three in one talk. There also seems to be a pantheon of heavenly beings that meet in the court of God.

Cherubim placed to guard the entrance. These are beast with a flaming sword

Genesis 4

Genesis 4 LEB

1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain. And she said, “I have given birth to a man with the help of Yahweh.” 2 Then she bore his brother Abel. And Abel became a keeper of sheep, and Cain became a tiller of the ground. 3 And in the course of time Cain brought an offering from the fruit of the ground to Yahweh, 4 and Abel also brought an offering from the choicest firstlings of his flock. And Yahweh looked with favor to Abel and to his offering, 5 but to Cain and to his offering he did not look with favor. And Cain became very angry, and his face fell. 6 And Yahweh said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why is your face fallen? 7 If you do well will I not accept you? But if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. And its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” 8 Then Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out into the field.” And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. 9 Then Yahweh said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 And he said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground. 11 So now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive the blood of your brother from your hand. 12 When you till the ground it shall no longer yield its strength to you. You shall be a wanderer and a fugitive on the earth.” 13 And Cain said to Yahweh, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 Look, you have driven me out today from the face of the ground, and from your face I must hide. I will be a wanderer and a fugitive on the earth, and it will happen that whoever finds me will kill me.” 15 Then Yahweh said to him, “Therefore, whoever kills Cain will be avenged sevenfold.” Then Yahweh put a sign on Cain so that whoever found him would not kill him. 16 And Cain went out from the presence of Yahweh, and he settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. 17 And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. And when he built a city he named the city after his son, Enoch. 18 And to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. 19 And Lamech took to himself two wives. The name of the first was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah. 20 And Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and those who have livestock. 21 And the name of his brother was Jubal; he was the father of all who play stringed instruments and wind instruments. 22 Then Zillah also gave birth to Tubal-Cain who forged all kinds of tools of bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah. 23 Then Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, listen to my voice; O wives of Lamech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, Even a young man for injuring me. 24 If Cain is avenged sevenfold, Then Lamech will be avenged seventy and seven times. 25 Then Adam knew his wife again, and she gave birth to a son. And she called his name Seth, for she said “God has appointed to me another child in the place of Abel, because Cain killed him.” 26 And as for Seth, he also fathered a son, and he called his name Enosh. At that time he began to call on the name of Yahweh.

Adam lay with Eve

Is this seen as before the fall or after?

In our initial most basic reading it is like duh after. but there are those that argue that Adam and Eve knew each other in the garden. Some will use that to explain the “others”. Those who see the forbidden fruit as sex see that this may be as a direct result of it

Two Sons of Adam and Eve

Cain

The Farmer. Cain sounds like the word for acquired. Offers a cereal or grain offering

Abel

The Sheppard. Abel means vanity or weakness. He gives a firstling from flock.

Sacrifice

Notice doesn’t say they were commanded to bring a sacrifice, just that they do

Why did the Lord look down upon Cain’s offering?

Abel brought his best

Cain just brought something not the worst. Just not the best. Cain wanted to thank God for his help with his farming, Abel’s gift showed total dependence on God. Cain thanked God for serving him. Abel confessed himself a servant of God

Does not seem to be a burnt offering. Seems that God was still meeting with them face to face in some fashion.

Cain becomes Jealous. God encourages Cain to do the right thing. Sin is crouching at your door. Sin is a doorway in which the demons will get you. Rabisu is Babylonian demon who waits in doorways to ambush his victims

Cain Kills his brother. The lord comes to Cain and ask where Is your Brother. God already Knows. He is Giving a chance for Cain to Confess. This is the pattern we saw earlier with Adam and Eve.

Cain does not “am I My brothers Keeper”. Yes. His Blood Cries out. Blood is the life force of the Body. Cain is pushed from Gods presence But not but from his protection

Others

Did Adam have other children we just are not told about? Is He speaking of other beings? Animals? Did God create other men or men like creatures, such as Homo-erectus or the like?

Don’t know

Cain Settles in Nod

Nod means wondering. A Wanderer din Wandering

Line of Cain

Cain Starts his own Group of People

Cain lay with his wife.

Enoch build a city. This is the first city we have record of. Enoch Cain’s descendants begin all the major thrust of civilization. From a murder does civilization grow: Cities, domestication of cattle, music, and metal working, practice polygamy.

Lamech represents the end of the line. Man no longer needs God to protected him. Man believes he no longer needs God

Seth

Verses 25-26

Adam is given another child. Seth Granted

Enosh - Weakness. Cain’s strength will fall but Enosh’s weakness will prevail (trust in the Lord) contrasted against Cain’s family. This family calls upon the name of the Lord and Enosh’s family will never end.

Chapter 5

Why have these sections in the Bible?

Trace Genealogy

Mark who has come before

Show the passages of time

Served as an outline of the book of Genesis

Shows the Faithfulness of God to continue the line of Adam even after Adam has sinned against Him God is that Great

Genesis 5:1–20 LEB

1 This is the record of the generations of Adam. When God created Adam, he made him in the likeness of God. 2 Male and female he created them. And he blessed them. And he called their name “Humankind” when they were created. 3 And when Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he fathered a child in his likeness, according to his image. And he called his name Seth. 4 And the days of Adam after he fathered Seth were eight hundred years. And he fathered sons and daughters. 5 And all the days of Adam which he lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died. 6 When Seth had lived one hundred and five years, he fathered Enosh. 7 And after Seth had fathered Enosh he lived eight hundred and seven years, and fathered sons and daughters. 8 And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died. 9 When Enosh lived ninety years, he fathered Kenan. 10 And after Enosh fathered Kenan he lived eight hundred and fifteen years, and fathered sons and daughters. 11 And all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years, and he died. 12 When Kenan had lived seventy years, he fathered Mahalalel. 13 And after Kenan had fathered Mahalalel, he lived eight hundred and forty years, and fathered sons and daughters. 14 And all the days of Kenan were nine hundred and ten years, and he died. 15 When Mahalalel had lived sixty-five years, he fathered Jared. 16 And after Mahalalel had fathered Jared, he lived eight hundred and thirty years, and fathered sons and daughters. 17 And all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety-five years, and he died. 18 When Jared had lived one hundred and sixty-two years, he fathered Enoch. 19 And after Jared had fathered Enoch, he lived eight hundred years, and fathered sons and daughters. 20 And all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years, and he died.

From Adam to Enoch

Notice that the story of Adam and Eve here does not mention the fall

Adam 130 years has Seth. As God made us in his image And Adam had Seth who was made in Adams images. Next 800 years he had other children

Seth 105 years had Enosh. Then for next 807 years he had other kids

Enosh 90 years had Kenan. 815 years having other children

Kenan 70 years had Mahalalel. 840 years had other children

Mahalalel 65 years had Jared. 830 years had other children

Jared 162 years Enoch. 800 years had other children

Genesis 5:21–32 LEB

21 When Enoch had lived sixty-five years, he fathered Methuselah. 22 And Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah three hundred years, and fathered sons and daughters. 23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 And Enoch walked with God, and he was no more, for God took him. 25 When Methuselah had lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, he fathered Lamech. 26 And after Methuselah had fathered Lamech, he lived seven hundred and eighty-two years, and fathered sons and daughters. 27 And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years, and he died. 28 When Lamech had lived one hundred and eighty-two years, he fathered a son. 29 And he called his name Noah, saying, “This one shall relieve us from our work, and from the hard labor of our hands, from the ground which Yahweh had cursed. 30 And after Lamech had fathered Noah he lived five hundred and ninety-five years, and he fathered sons and daughters. 31 All the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years, and he died. 32 When Noah was five hundred years old, Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Enoch to Noah

Enoch not to be confused with son of Cain. 65 when he became the father of Methuselah. 300 years other children. Walked with the Lord is this after the birth of Methuselah possibly, people began to think seriously after children born. Could have been a whole life thing. Lord took him away believed that Enoch and Elijah be the two prophets at the end times other say Moses

Methuselah 187 years had Lamech. 782 years having other children. Oldest person yet still lived, had children and died. Enoch his father lived on earth 1/3 the time and accomplished more because he walked with the Lord. Number of days is not the important part but how you live it

Lamech Not to be confused with Lamech the Polygamist, 182 had Noah 595 years having other children.

Noah Sounds like “Comfort” He will comfort us. Confuses me. Noah survives the flood but does not comfort the pains of the land. Just a hope of Lamech (?).

When we read through these verses we can also realize that this doesn’t have to be a direct timeline. Seth was 105 when he fathered the ancestor of Enosh. Son and Grandson or the like could be seen as the same. We see this in other A.N.E. Writings

The Flood

Genesis 6-8

Genesis 6:1–8 LEB

1 And it happened that, when humankind began to multiply on the face of the ground, daughters were born to them. 2 Then the sons of God saw the daughters of humankind, that they were beautiful. And they took for themselves wives from all that they chose. 3 And Yahweh said, “My Spirit shall not abide with humankind forever in that he is also flesh. And his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” 4 The Nephilim were upon the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God went into the daughters of humankind, and they bore children to them. These were the mighty warriors that were from ancient times, men of renown. 5 And Yahweh saw that the evil of humankind was great upon the earth, and every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was always only evil. 6 And Yahweh regretted that he had made humankind on the earth, and he was grieved in his heart. 7 And Yahweh said, “I will destroy humankind whom I created from upon the face of the earth, from humankind, to animals, to creeping things, and to the birds of heaven, for I regret that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of Yahweh.

Sons of God

Sons of Seth (godly men)

Rulers

Angels

In Job sons of God is refers to angels. Angels often appeared just like men, Abram

2 Peter 2:4 mentions a sin committed by the angels commonly associated with the fall of angel with Satan could be this?

Daughters of Men

Daughters of Cain’s family would have been a different class structure for these two different families. Romeo and Juliet. Godly lives bring longer lives so marrying with pagans brings shorter lives

Women

120 Years

Years will be 120 Years in which people lived. See that people continued to live longer than that after the flood

How long he will hold of the flood?

Nephilim

Used here and in Numbers 13:33. People in Canaan.

Etymology nephal - To fall or The fallen ones. Numbers 13:33 giants, men of considerable size. In the context here they were warrior heroes of old or result of the union between the sons of God and daughters of Man

God Grieved

God was grieved that he made man. First glance might thing that God regretted making man. But seems more that he was grieved by what man was doing. Causing him to suffer. Never does it describe God as angry in these passages. God is not angry he is sorrow so out of his love of creation, in hope to preserve his creation.

I will blot them out. Almost sounds like he was trying to erase a mistake. God doesn’t make mistakes. We do.

They have 120 years to change, in that time Noah caught God’s attention

Genesis 6:9–22 LEB

9 These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, without defect in his generations. Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah fathered three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 And the earth was corrupted before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth. 13 And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before me, for the earth was filled with violence because of them. Now, look, I am going to destroy them along with the earth. 14 Make for yourself an ark of cypress wood; you must make the ark with rooms, then you must cover it with pitch, inside and outside. 15 And this is how you must make it: the length of the ark, three hundred cubits; its width fifty cubits; its height, thirty cubits. 16 You must make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above. And as for the door of the ark, you must put it in its side. You must make it with a lower, second, and a third deck. 17 And I, behold, I am about to bring the flood waters over the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life from under the heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish. 18 And I will establish my covenant with you, and you must go into the ark—you, and your sons, and your wife, and the wives of your sons with you. 19 And of every living thing, from all flesh, you must bring two from every kind into the ark to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. 20 From the birds according to their kind, and from the animals according to their kind, from every creeping thing on the ground according to its kind—two from every kind shall come to you to keep them alive. 21 And as for you, take for yourself from every kind of food that is eaten. And you must gather it to yourself. And it shall be for you and for them for food.” 22 And Noah did according to all that God commanded him; thus he did.

Verses 9-22

Noah walked with God. Just like Enoch

Noah had work to do

Noah will be the salvation for man. Can be compared to Jesus. God looked and saw that it was corrupt. He had made it all Good, But seems that it no longer was. Even Noah was Corrupt, but was walking in Righteousness. That doesn’t mean that Noah wasn’t a sinner.

Commanded to build and ark. It is argued that Noah would have been familiar with river travel, but in truth we don’t know. We do have pictures of boats from 150 feet long during this time in this area

Ark

Ark was to be 450 feet long (1 ½ foot ball fields long) by 75 feet wide by 45 feet high (3 stories). Made of Gopher wood possibly Cypress. Cypress wood is a sea worthy wood

God brought 2 of every kind animal. So they will just come. they didn’t have to go look. Possible that God chose to destroy some at this time. It is estimated that 7000 species could be held in such a vessel.

Notice it does say kind so some argue that it doesn’t have to be species like we think of it today. We think Lions and Tigers, but could just be two big cats.

The World Goes back to Chaos. Then it moves to Re-creation. We see that in the midst of Chaos God does not forget his servant.

Purposes of the Flood

God’s Judgment on Sin

God’s concern to preserve what he began at creation

Shows God reaching out to humanity (Noahic Covenant)

Genesis 9

Genesis 9:1–7 LEB

1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. 2 And fear of you and dread of you shall be upon every animal of the earth, and on every bird of heaven, and on everything that moves upon the ground, and on all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they shall be given. 3 Every moving thing that lives shall be for you as food. As I gave the green plants to you, I now give you everything. 4 Only you shall not eat raw flesh with blood in it. 5 And your lifeblood I will require; from every animal I will require it. And from the hand of humankind, from the hand of each man to his brother I will require the life of humankind. 6 “As for the one shedding the blood of humankind, by humankind his blood shall be shed, for God made humankind in his own image. 7 “And you, be fruitful and multiply, swarm on the earth and multiply in it.”

Noah has just built an alter. Noah now represents a new beginning. He is the new Adam. Like Adam, Noah and his family are given the responsibility and the blessing of being fruitful and multiplying. Unlike Adam, however, Noah and his family have the frustration of knowing the HST of man.

The fear and dread of you will fall upon the every beasts of the earth. Does this mean that there was peace and harmony between beast and man. possibly. Now man was eating the beast and that would be a natural reaction to that which is now eating you. People can now eat animals. Still can’t eat bloody meat. think about all the diseases that we still get when meats are under cooked

I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man. Murder, the reason for the seriousness of murder is respect not only for life but for the image of God in every man. Where men have no respect of God, there is little respect of the worth of another man

Other flood Stories

Every great civilization has flood stories

Gilgamesh Epic: gods try to destroy humanity with a great flood. Utnapishtim was told to build an ark by Ea. Flood was so great even the gods thought they were going to be destroyed. The water receded a bit, the ark landed on Mount Nisir. Utnapishtim sent a dove and a raven to see if the water had receded enough for him to leave. After it was over He made an offering.

Atrahasis Epic: (Babylonian) People are so noisy that the gods decide to destroy them Try Plague, Drought, Famine. All are not enough. So the gods try a flood, which is basically population control

Covenant with Noah

Genesis 9:8–17 LEB

8 And God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9 “As for me, behold, I am establishing my covenant with you and with your seed after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you—the birds, the animals, and every animal of the earth with you, from all that came out of the ark to all the animals of the earth. 11 I am establishing my covenant with you, that never again will all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, nor will there ever be a flood that destroys the earth.” 12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I am making between me and you, and between every living creature that is with you for future generations. 13 My bow I have set in the clouds, and it shall be for a sign of the covenant between me and between the earth. 14 And when I make clouds appear over the earth the bow shall be seen in the clouds. 15 Then I will remember my covenant that is between me and you, and between every living creature, with all flesh. And the waters of a flood will never again cause the destruction of all flesh. 16 The bow shall be in the clouds, and I will see it, so as to remember the everlasting covenant between God and between every living creature, with all flesh that is upon the earth.” 17 And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I am establishing between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.

Covenant with Noah. God will never destroy the earth with a flood again. God initiated this agreement not Noah. This is a sign of God’s divine mercy and Grace. He did not have to make a deal. God is just that great.

Rainbow was given as an everlasting symbol of the contract between the Creator and His creatures. We know a rainbow is light refraction caused by the moisture in the air But as we look and we see the curve of the rainbow. It represents God laying down his warriors bow.

If the flood was not universal then God has broken his promise by flooding the different areas.

Covenant different from that which we see with David or Abraham. This c covenant is more of a promise that does not require anything from Man. God will discipline us in other ways now

Sin of Ham

Genesis 9:18–28 LEB

18 Now the sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) 19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated. 20 And Noah began to be a man of the ground, and he planted a vineyard. 21 And he drank some of the wine and became drunk, and he exposed himself in the midst of his tent. 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and he told his two brothers outside. 23 Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, and the two of them put it on their shoulders and, walking backward, they covered the nakedness of their father. And their faces were turned backward, so that they did not see the nakedness of their father. 24 Then Noah awoke from his drunkenness, and he knew what his youngest son had done to him. 25 And he said, “Cursed be Canaan, a slave of slaves he shall be to his brothers.” 26 Then he said, “Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Shem, and let Canaan be a slave to them. 27 May God make space for Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be a slave for him.” 28 And Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood.

This passage was a favorite text of Southern preachers during the Civil War as they asserted the right of white men to enslave the Negro.