-
For centuries, Jews and
Christians have considered Moses to be the author of the Torah.
-
But scholars have noticed
problems with this when reading the text critically:
-
Scholars initially explained
this problems by holding to the belief that Moses was the author, but
suggesting that some material may have been inserted (such as the account
of Moses' death).
-
But further study revealed
that the changes/insertions were consistent and could be broken down into
different styles,
-
In the 17th Century, Richard
Simon, a Catholic priest, theorized that while Moses may have been the
source of the traditions in the Torah, as we have it today it is a
compilation of material from several different sources.
-
Simon's work was condemned
by Catholics and Protestants.
-
Of 1300 printed copies of
his book, all but 6 were burned.
-
Today, Simon's conclusion
is accepted by the majority of Christians and Jews.
-
18th and 19th centuries, The
Documentary Hypothesis.
-
Developed by German
scholars influenced by:
-
The critical assumptions
of post-Enlightenment scientific reasoning
-
Darwin's theory of
evolution published in On the Origin of Species
-
The work of G.W.F.
Hegel, which applied Darwin to the "evolution" of religious belief.
-
Also known as the Graf-Wellhausen
hypothesis, after the two scholars who are considered most significant
to its development.
-
The theory proposes at least
four sources behind the Torah:
-
J
or
Yahwist
-
oldest
layer (9th-10th centuries BC)
-
uses
"Yahweh"
for
God
-
portrays
God
with anthropomorphic
features
-
walks in the
garden of Eden
-
closes the
door of the ark
-
smells
Noah's sacrifice
-
walks with
Abraham (disguised as a man)
-
Begins
with
Genesis
2
creation
story
-
Uses Mt.
Sinai
for
the
place
where
the
Mosaic
covenant
was
established.
-
lived
in
Judah
(southern
kingdom)-
text
is
clearly loyal
to
David
and
Davidic
dynasty.
-
E
or
Elohist
-
second oldest
-
author uses
elohim
for
God
-
written
in
northern
part
of
Israel
in
8th
century
BC
-
begins
with
Abraham
story and
offers
alternative
versions
of
many
of
the
patriarchal
stories
and
Moses'
reception
of
the
law.
-
After
the fall
of
Israel
to
Assyria
in
722
BC,
the
E
traditions
were
carried
to
Judah
and
combined
with
J.
-
D
or
Deuteronomist
-
one
century
later, during
the
reign
of
king
Josiah,
a
version
of
Deuteronomy
was
produced
as
part
of a
religious
reform
stressing
a
renewed
loyalty
to
Yahwism.
-
The
book
of Deuteronomy,
or
at
least
part
of
it
was
“discovered”
in
the
temple
during
this
reform,
around
621
BC.
-
Acc.
to
Deut
12:4-6,
there
is
only
one
appropriate
place
to
worship
Yahweh-
so Josiah
went throughout
his
kingdom
destroying
rival
sanctuaries.
-
has
a distinct,
cyclical
view
of
history
-
P
or
Priestly
-
composed
right
around
the
time
of
the
Babylonian
Exile
(6th
century
BC).
-
concerned
with
priestly
regulations
such
as
those
found
in
Leviticus.
-
responsible
for
much
of
the legal
material
in
the
Torah
as
well
as
the genealogies.
-
written
at a
time
when Israel’s
national
identity
was
threatened
by
outside
forces,
explaining its
preoccupation
with
genealogies
and
rituals
and
customs.
-
This
source
is
responsible
for
or
was the
final
editor
of
most
of
the
Torah’s
legal
material,
from
Exodus
35
through
Leviticus
to
Numbers
10.
-
P
is
responsible
for:
-
Elohim’s
observance
of
the first
sabbath
in
Genesis
1.
-
Detailed Tabernacle
descriptions
in
Exodus
25-31,
35-40.
-
Aaron’s
role
as
Moses’
spokesman
and
Israel’s
first
high
priest.
-
The
account
of Moses’
death.
Genesis:
The Primeval History
-
The name comes from
the Gk for the first words of the text, "In
beginning..."
-
Divided into two
main parts:
-
Three of the sources
in the Documentary Hypothesis are represented in
Genesis: J, E, and P.
-
The Primeval
History:
-
Noticeably different
from the rest of the book in terms of style and
content.
-
Contains material
comparable to the mythology of cultures
contemporary with ancient Israel.
-
What is myth?
-
Why?
-
Since the
Enlightenment (18th century), the
human understanding of truth has changed,
-
because the
assumptions upon which that understanding is based
have changed.
-
Ancients assumed
that the physical world was not the only world
there was (The ancient worldview),
-
The physical world
was a flawed, temporary reflection of the eternal.
-
The purpose of myth
was to reveal through story the truth of the
eternal, spiritual world, which was considered
timeless
-
Myth is not
concerned with historical detail or accuracy, it
is concerned with what the ancients considered to
be the truth about human nature.
-
Nearly every
religious tradition contains myth of one form or
another.
-
During the
Enlightenment, philosophers rediscovered the
writings of ancient authors like Aristotle, and
there was a renewed interest in the pursuit of
classical logic.
-
The claims of
traditional religion were questioned to determine
their "reasonableness."
-
With the Scientific
Revolution of the 19th century, the religious
worldview was also challenged by the fundamental
assumption of science:
-
The Biblical stories
of the miraculous or the extraordinary were
examined and criticized in light of modern
assumptions,
-
"Myth" as a literary
genre, took on this meaning- that which is
"improvable," and therefore untrue.
-
Another twist: In
the early 20 century, the "Postmodern" worldview
began to dominate.
-
Suspicious of the
claims of science to solve the world's problems
and answer all questions,
-
Postmodernism sees
science as just another story or narrative used by
people to try and understand the world.
-
So science is no
more true or false than any other narrative,
religious or otherwise.
-
This is the
philosophy behind the current trends of
multiculturalism and tolerance (all cultures are
equal- all are just narratives for understanding
the world).
-
But this has led to
relativism- truth is relative to the culture that
defines it, and no one is better than any other,
therefore all truth is relative...
-
In order to
understand Genesis 1-11 (as well as other parts of
the Bible), the literary genre must be considered,
The 2
Creation
Accounts
-
Genesis 1:1-2:4 is
the first account (the Priestly account),
-
Genesis 2:4b-25 is
the second account (the Yahwist account)
-
The Priestly
Creation:
-
By this account,
plants are created before the sun, which is needed
to grow them. "Light" is also created before the
sun, but its source is not described.
-
Is there logic
behind the sequence? See for yourself. Do you see
the relationship between the six days?
The story is symmetrical:
-
Day 1, day and night
are created, day 4, sources of light are created
(they "occupy" the light).
-
Day 2, sky and water
are separated (no earth yet), day 5 animals that
occupy the sky and the water are created.
-
Day 3, the earth is
created, day 6 animals that occupy the earth and
mankind are created.
-
This story also has
parallels to the creation myths of other Ancient
Near eastern cultures, esp. the Babylonian myth "enuma
elish" :
-
The Babylonian god
Marduk is the focus of the story.
-
Recounts his defeat
of an older generation of ANE gods.
-
Acc. to this story,
the god Apsu and the goddess Tiamat were the
parents of all the other gods.
-
When Apsu is killed
by Ea, Tiamat seeks revenge for the death of her
lover.
-
Ea turns to his
father Anshar for advice, and Anshar decides to
send Marduk to kill Tiamat.
-
Marduk agrees to do
so only if he is placed first among the gods.
-
Marduk takes the 4
winds with him to face Tiamat, and she comes out
to meet him with her mouth open to devour him.
-
He sends the winds
into her mouth, blowing her up like a balloon,
then he slices her in half.
-
Marduk makes a dome
for the heavens out of the upper half of her body,
and the earth out of the lower half.
-
Marduk also kills
Tiamat's new lover Kingu, and makes man from his
blood.
-
Genesis is not the
only place in the OT where creation is mentioned,
and some of the other references sound much like
the "battle" imagery of enuma elish.
-
Psalms: 74, 89, 104
-
Remember that the P
account was composed after the return from the
Babylonian exile,
-
This may be why the
author is careful not to use the Hebrew word for
the sun on day 3, shamesh, which is almost
identical to the Babylonian word Shamash, the name
of their sun god.
-
This may also
explain why creation of the sun is after
vegetation- all things are dependent on God to
live, not on the sun, which is itself dependent on
God.
-
The Yahwist Creation
-
Earlier of the 2
accounts, differs from the P account in several
ways:
-
Key points:
-
"Adam" can mean
"mankind," or "the first man" or it could be a
personal name. Probably a pun on the Hebrew "Adamah"
meaning "clay," "earth," or "ground."
-
"Eve" (chavvah)
means "life."
-
"Eden" is probably a
Hebrew import from the Babylonian word "edinu"
which means "plain" or "desert."
-
v.10-15 claim the
garden was located somewhere in relation to the
Tigris and Euphrates. (possibly
here)
-
translated as "paradeisos"
in the septuagint, hence the English "paradise."
-
Man is given a
responsibility when placed in the garden- to till
it and care for it.
-
This carries over a
theme from the P account:
-
In P, when man is
created in "the image of God," he is told to "fill
the earth and subdue it," and have dominion over
all living things.
-
In J, Man is told to
cultivate and care for the garden, just as God had
done when he first created it.
-
Both stories make
man unique above all other creatures, in that man
is capable of acting like God.
-
Is woman made
subordinate to man?
-
Not in P, both are
created at the same time, and both in the image of
God.
-
In J, woman is
created last (man is first among living creatures)
and as a "helper" to him.
-
Does this mean she
is to serve him?
-
Probably not- the
same Hebrew word here trans. as "helper" is used
most often in the Bible in reference to God, esp.
in the Psalms, where God is often referred to as
helper to those in distress.
-
So while woman
becomes subordinate to man as punishment, this is
apparently not the way things were intended to be.
-
The Fall
-
Initiated by the
serpent, who is described as "cunning" (but not
evil).
-
Serpent entices Eve
to eat from the "Tree of the knowledge of good and
bad."
-
Problems with the
story:
-
Why does God refuse
to grant wisdom to humanity in the first place,
esp. if we are created in his image?
-
Why is humanity
expelled from the garden?
-
2 things:
-
Is man treated
justly in the second creation story?
Cain & Abel
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