Engaging the ot 3a

Introduction to the Pentateuch
• What Is the Pentateuch?
• What Is the Pentateuch About?
• What Are the Overarching Themes of the
Pentateuch?
– Sovereignty of God
– History
– Corrupted Condition of Humanity
– Salvation
– Holiness
• Who Wrote the Pentateuch?

What Is the Pentateuch?
ESV Study Bible
The Pentateuch (Gk. “five-volumed”) consists of
the first five books of the Bible, i.e., Genesis
through Deuteronomy. The Hebrew term for it is
torah (“law” or “instruction”)
• The beginning and foundation of the Bible.

ESV Study Bible
• Orientation — The world is created and
controlled by One God
• Divine Purposes — Showing God’s intentions for
His creation
• Theology and Ethics — Insight into God’s
character and His ethical standards

ESV Study Bible — Content
• It’s “Center” — Exodus 19 — Numbers 10 — Law
giving at Sinai
• The Life of Moses — Exodus — Deuteronomy

ESV Study Bible — Composition
• Moses (and his helpers) —
• Exodus 20-23; see Exodus 24:4, 7 (cp. Exod 34:27; 17:14; Num
33:2; Deut 31:9, 19, 22, 24).
• But this does not mean he wrote every single word (for
obvious reasons, i.e., recording his own death in Deut 34).
• “The evidence suggests that Moses was the inspiration for
these books. He is its source, it originator, its authorizer.
However, terms such as ‘author’ and ‘authorship’ are
inappropriate when referring to ancient Near Easter literary
products, since they carry modern implications that were
absent in antiquity” (Arnold & Beyer, Encountering the Old
Testament, 49, emphasis mine).

Books 
of the Pentateuch
• Genesis Beginnings
• Exodus Salvation
• Leviticus Holiness
• Numbers Wanderings
• Deuteronomy Renewal

• Sovereignty of God
• History
• Fallen Condition of
Humanity
• Salvation
• Holiness
Themes 
of the Pentateuch
The British Library / Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public
Domain Dedication, http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/
illuminatedmanuscripts/ILLUMIN.ASP?Size=mid&IllID=49699

Critical Approaches
• Source Criticism — Graf Wellhausen —
Documentary Hypothesis
• Redaction Criticism
• Form Criticism
• Tradition Criticism
• Canonical Criticism
• Literary Criticism

Critical Approaches
Source Criticism — Graf-Wellhausen
Documentary Hypothesis
• J — the Jahwist source
• E — the Elohist source
• D — the Deuteronomist source
• P — the Priestly source

When R & D gets in the way of saving
lives

Key Text — Genesis 12:1-3
Now the LORD said to Abram,
“Go from your country and your
kindred and your father's house to
the land that I will show you. And I
will make of you a great nation, and
I will bless you and make your
name great, so that you will be a
blessing. I will bless those who bless
you, and him who dishonors you I
will curse, and in you all the
families of the earth shall be
blessed.”
Themes 
of the Pentateuch

Key Text — Genesis 12:1-3
Now the LORD said to Abram,
“Go from your country and your
kindred and your father's house to
the land that I will show you. And I
will make of you a great nation, and
I will bless you and make your
name great, so that you will be a
blessing. I will bless those who bless
you, and him who dishonors you I
will curse, and in you all the
families of the earth shall be
blessed.”
Themes 
of the Pentateuch
God promises Abraham
4 things:
1. land to live in,
2. Numerous
descendants,
3. blessing for himself,
and,
4. blessing through him
for all nations of the
world

Key Text — Genesis
12:1-3
The fulfillment of these promises to
Abraham constitutes the story line
of the Pentateuch. It is a story of
gradual and often difficult
fulfillment. . . . The Pentateuch is
thus a story of divine mercy to a
wayward people. (ESV Study
Bible)
Themes 
of the Pentateuch

Genesis 1–11:  
The Prelude to Israel
• Primeval History and Its Nature
• Contents of Genesis 1–11
– Creation and Its Nature (chapters 1–2)
– Sin and Its Nature (chapters 3–11)

Contents of Genesis 1–11
I. The Creation of the World (1:1–2:3)
II. Adam and Eve (2:4–25)
III. The Fall (3:1–24)
IV. Cain and Abel (4:1–26)
V. From Adam to Noah (5:1–32)
VI. The Flood (6:1–8:22)
VII. Noah after the Flood (9:1–29)
VIII. The Table of Nations (10:1–32)
IX. The Tower of Babel (11:1–9)
X. The Shemites (11:10–32)

I. Creation 1:1-2:5
End Time Theories
• A-millennial
• Pre-millennial
• Post-millennial
• Dispensational
Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing
Beginning Time Theories
• 7 - 24 hour days
• Each day is a week
• Each day is 1000 years
• Each day is a billion + years
— Regardless of the TIME, Christ is coming back.
— Regardless of the TIME, God did it.

Young Earth
Creationism 
 
Old Earth
Creationism 
 
Theistic MICRO-
Evolution 
 
Theistic MACRO-
Evolution 
 
7 Day Festival
Of Creation? 
 
Atheistic
Evolution

What’s a Day? (Hebrew — Yom)
Defining a Day
• 24 hours — Gen 1,
Evening & Morning,
before the sun was
created
• Period — 7-days in Gen
2:4
• A Year — Gen 25:7, cp.
Num 14:34
• 1000 years — Psa 90:4;
cp. 2 Peter 3:8
• First CREATION & the 2ND
COMING
• “Scientific Fundies” — Only
see Genesis in terms of
hours, not ethics and
community
• 24-Hours — John Walton —
Genesis 1 is a 7-DAY
celebration of God building
His earthly temple — Rev
21:3

“70 Facets” of Creation
Mythology of the Day
Marduk decides to create human
beings, but needs blood and bone from
which to fashion them. Ea advises that only
one of the gods should die to provide the
materials for creation, the one who was
guilty of plotting evil against the gods.
Marduk inquires of the assembly of the gods
about who incited Tiamat’s rebellion, and
was told that it was her husband Kingu. Ea
kills Kingu and uses his blood to fashion
mankind so they can perform menial tasks
for the gods. To honor Marduk, the gods
construct a house for him in Babylon. After
its completion, Marduk gives a great feast
for the gods in his new house who all praise
Marduk for his greatness in subduing
Tiamat.
• Genesis “de-myths”
creation allowing for
SCIENCE.
• Genesis elevates humanity
to interact & have
fellowship with God
• “Let us . . . make man,
male and female” . . .
• Community creates
community

“70 Facets” of Creation
Mythology of the Day
Marduk decides to create human
beings, but needs blood and bone from
which to fashion them. Ea advises that only
one of the gods should die to provide the
materials for creation, the one who was
guilty of plotting evil against the gods.
Marduk inquires of the assembly of the gods
about who incited Tiamat’s rebellion, and
was told that it was her husband Kingu. Ea
kills Kingu and uses his blood to fashion
mankind so they can perform menial tasks
for the gods. To honor Marduk, the gods
construct a house for him in Babylon. After
its completion, Marduk gives a great feast
for the gods in his new house who all praise
Marduk for his greatness in subduing
Tiamat.
• Genesis establishes our
worth — for ALL of
humanity
• Humanity was not created
to be a slave force, but to
serve in a sacred play as
priests.
• Every Sabbath was to
remember creation

Atheistic Evolution vs. Creation
Atheistic Evolution
• Humanity is no different
than any other creature.
• Man’s origin is random,
accidental
• DNA is common to all living
things — therefore there is
no god
• Our origins derive from the
simple, single-celled
organism
• Animals and people are of
the same value.
Creation
• Humanity is the highest — of
the lowest
• Man was pre-planned (Eph 1:4)
• DNA is common because we
have a common Creator.
• Our origins go UP to a Creator
in whose image we are made.
• Animals are important, But,
not as important as those in
God’s image. (see Deut 22:6-7)

Choose Your Worldview Carefully
Non-Biblical
• Made in the image
of an evil god
• You are a lowly
slave — get over it
and get busy.
• You are an
afterthought.
Biblical
• Made in the image
of a Good God who
does good.
• You are a Royal
Priesthood serving in
the King’s paradise.
• You planned and
purposed.

Genesis 2 — Another Creation
Story? . . . Um, No.
The Human Story of Creation
• God plants a garden for “Adam.”
• God hand-forms us — Psalm 139
• God brings us into His garden.
• He walks with us daily.
• Seeks seeks a help mate
(community).
• Animals to name.
• Divine surgery
• Brings WoMan to Man
• Makes clothes and clothes our
shame

Genesis 2 — EVE — Helper
• Hebrew — EZER — 2:20
• Not an “elf” — little
helper, servant
• Eli-EZER (Lazarus of the
NT)
• See Hebrews 13:6!
• Marriage — Hermeneutic
of Jesus — Matt 19:4 —
“. . . the way it was in
the beginning . . .”

Genesis 3 — And so it begins . . .
Myth-busters of Genesis 3
True or False
• The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil had
apples.
• Eve was ALONE when ﬁrst tempted.
• If Adam was doing his job as leader of the home,
this would not have happened.
• Eve added to the Word of God (see 2:17 & 3:3).

Two Trees, Two Choices, and You?
• Genesis — Account of good and choice
• Babylonian — Determinism from an evil
source

“There were extenuating circumstances when you consider
that the apple was covered in dark chocolate and rolled in
macadamia nuts.”

Freedom and Its Consequences —
Genesis 3
For Satan — 3:14-15
• Cursed,
• Crawler,
• Crushed
Woman — 3:16
• Pain
• Who’s in charge?

Genesis 3
Man — 3:17
• Ground is Cursed,
• Death abounds
AdamA = Earth —
3:18-24
• Clothed — 1st
sacrifice
• Kicked out . . . Why?

Genesis 3
• Adam alienated from
Eve
• Alienated from God
• Alienated from
creation
• Alienated from self
• Alienated from
community
• Cain and Abel
• Lamech the murderer
• Noah getting drunk
• Abe “pimp’s” his wife —
TWICE!
• Etc., Etc., and so on,
and so forth . . .
• The rest of the Bible is
about rescuing/saving us
(often from ourselves!)

Mirror Images — Genesis and Revelation
• 1:1-ff — Creation of
heaven and earth
• 2:22 — Eve given to
Adam
• 3:8 — God walked daily
— God’s sanctuary
• 3:19 — Curse with
death
• 2:10 — A river runs
through it
• 2:9 — Tree of Life
• 21:1 — New heaven and
new earth
• 21:2 — Bride given to
Husband
• 21:3 — God walks again
among us — God’s
sanctuary
• 21:4 — Curse removed —
including death
• 22:1 — the River of the
Water of Life
• Tree of Life

The First Family — Genesis 4
• 4:1 — “Now Adam yada with his wife” — This term
is never used of animals.
• 4:1 — “I have gotten a man wth the help of the
LORD.” First person to use God’s name in Scripture
was Eve.
• 4:2 — “Abel” — “Nothing” — What a name!
• Abel — flocks; Cain — gardener (like his parents).
• First Murder was within family!
• East . . . East . . . East = BAD (3:24; 4:16).
• WORSHIP — 4:26!!!

Long Live the Sons of God! — Genesis 5
The Generations of Adam
Where did Cain get his wife? . . .
What does the Bible say? . . . Genesis 5:4

Literary structure —
When A had lived X years, he fathered B. A
lived Y years after he fathered B and had
other sons and daughters. Thus all the days
of A were Z (= X + Y) years, after which he
died.

Compressed genealogies?
• “Fathered” also means “ancestor of”
• cp. to Moses’ genealogy — Exodus 6:16-20
and Joshua 1 Chronicles 7:23-27 . . .

How old were these guys? . . .
• Literal — did something in the cosmology change to shorten
lifespans?
• Figure of speech — Sumerian King List (recorded before a
“great flood”) lists kinds living 28,800; 36,000, & 43,200 years.
• Symbolic — related to astronomical figures
• Encoded — with some unknown honorary significance
• Calculated — by a different numeric method
One thing is clear: These people actually lived (regardless of how
long), and they actually died.

Contemplative Question
How would you view yourself if, 1) You
were the product of blind chance/
Atheistic Evolution. How would you
view yourself if, 2) You know you are
created in the image of a loving and
good God? Due Monday (Jan 18).

Engaging the ot 3a

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