“For us the supreme sanction of the Old Testament is that which it derived from Christ Himself. . . . What was indispensable to the Redeemer must always be indispensable to the redeemed.”

—Professor G. A. Smith

I. The Name “Old Testament”

Before launching out into the deep seas of OT studies, or even the comparatively small area of studying a particular book, it will prove helpful to outline briefly some general facts about the Sacred Book we call “The Old Testament.”

Our word “covenant” translates the Hebrew word berîth. In the NT covenant and testament both translate the same Greek word (diatheke). In the title of the Scriptures the meaning “covenant” seems definitely preferable because the Book constitutes a pact, alliance, or covenant between God and His people.

It is called the Old Testament (or Covenant) to contrast it with the “New” one, although “Older Covenant” might be a better title, since Old to some people suggests that it is not worth learning. This would be a deadly error from a spiritual, historical, or cultural viewpoint. Both Testaments are inspired by God and therefore profitable for all Christians. While the believer in Christ frequently turns to that part of the Bible that specifically tells of our Lord, His church, and how He wishes His disciples to live, the importance of the OT for a fully-furnished believer cannot be overstressed.

The relationship between the OT and the NT was nicely expressed by Augustine:

The New is in the Old concealed;

The Old is in the New revealed.

II. The OT Canon

The word canon (Gk. kanon) refers to a “rule” by which something is measured or evaluated. The OT Canon is that collection of divinely inspired, and hence authoritative, books recognized by the spiritual leaders of Israel in ancient times. How do we know that these are the only books that should be in the canon or that all of these thirty-nine writings should be there? Since there were other religious writings (including heretical ones) from early days, how can we be sure that these are the right ones?

It is often said that a Jewish council drew up the canonical list in the late first century of our era. Actually, the books were canonical as soon as they were written. Godly and discerning Jews recognized inspired Scriptures from the start. However, there was a dispute for a time over some of the books (Esther, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, e.g.) in some quarters.

The Jews divide the OT into three parts: The Torah, the Prophets (Former and Latter), and the Writings.

There are several theories as to why, for example, the Book of Daniel, a prophecy, should be among the Writings, and not among the Prophets. A common liberal view is that Daniel was written too late to get into the second section, which they see as already “closed” when Daniel wrote (See Introduction to Daniel.) A conservative view sees Daniel in the third section because he was not a prophet by office, but a statesman used by God to write a prophecy. Dr. Merrill F. Unger taught that the three-fold division is determined by the position of the writers:

This is the conservative and (we believe) the correct view. The Old Testament books were written with the definite purpose of being held sacred and divinely authoritative. Therefore, they possessed the stamp of canonicity from the moment of their appearance. The three-fold division is due to the official position and status of the writers and not to degrees of inspiration, differences of content or chronology.

The council that officially recognized our canon was actually confirming what had been generally accepted for centuries. The council drew up not an inspired list of books, but a list of inspired books.

Even more important for Christians is the fact that our Lord Himself quoted frequently and treated as authoritative books from the three sections of the Hebrew OT. See, for example, Luk_24:27 and Luk_24:44. Furthermore, Christ never quoted from the so-called apocryphal books.

III. The Apocrypha

Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant Bible students all agree on the twenty-seven-book NT Canon, generally in the same order, with the exact same 260 chapters. The situation with the OT is a little more complex.

Protestants and Jews agree on the content of the OT, but the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholics accept several Jewish books of history and poetry which they call “deuterocanonical” (Gk. for secondary canon) and Protestants and Jews call “apocryphal” (Gk. for “hidden”).

The thirty-nine books of the current King James, New King James, and other truly Protestant versions constitute the exact same materials as the twenty-four books of the Hebrew Bible. The difference in number is because of several combinations in the Jewish editions. For example, the six books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles are considered to be just three books, and the Minor Prophets, called “The Book of the Twelve,” are seen as just one book.

The Jews wrote many other religious books, often not even in Hebrew, that they did not consider inspired and authoritative. Some, such as 1 and 2 Maccabees, are valuable for inter-testamental history. Others, such as “Bel and the Dragon,” need only to be read by the discerning to reveal their non-canonical status.

The least valuable of these Jewish books are called Pseudepigrapha (Gk. for “false writings”) and the better ones are called Apocrypha.

Some ancient Jews and Christians, but especially the Gnostics of Egypt, accepted a larger canon, including some of these books.

When scholarly St. Jerome was asked to translate the apocryphal books into Latin by Damasus, the Bishop of Rome, he did so only under protest. This was because he knew his Hebrew text well and also that they were not authentic parts of the Jewish Canon. Hence, although Jerome could discern their (at best) secondary status, he did translate these books for the Latin Vulgate. Today they also appear in Roman Catholic versions such as the New American Bible and the Jerusalem Bible, and usually in such ecumenical versions as the New English Bible, the Revised English Bible, and the New Revised Standard Version.

Even the Roman Catholic Church did not officially recognize the Apocrypha as canonical until the Counter-Reformation Period (1500’s). One reason that the Vatican did this was that a few of her teachings, such as praying for the dead, are found in the Apocrypha. Actually, the Apocrypha is largely Jewish literature and history, and not directly relevant to Christian doctrine. While not inspired, some of these books are worth reading from a cultural and historical viewpoint, after one has a firm grip on the inspired books of the Hebrew Canon.

IV. Authorship

The Divine Author of the OT is the Holy Spirit. He moved Moses, Ezra, Isaiah, and the anonymous authors to write under His guidance. The best and correct understanding of this question of how the OT books were produced is called dual authorship. The OT is not partly human and partly divine, but totally human and totally divine at the same time. The divine element kept the human element from making any errors. The result is an inerrant or flawless book in the original manuscripts.

A helpful analogy to the written Word is the dual nature of the Living Word, our Lord Jesus Christ. He is not partly human and partly divine (like some Greek myth) but completely human and completely divine at the same time. The divine nature made it impossible for the human to err or sin in any way.

V. Dates

Unlike the NT, which took only half a century to write (about A.D. 50–100), the OT took at least a millennium to complete (about 1400-400 B.C.). The first books written were either the Pentateuch (about 1400 B.C.) or Job (date unknown, but the contents suggest an era before the law was given).

Other books followed that were written before the exile (about 600 B.C.), such as Joshua through Samuel, during the exile (such as Lamentations and Ezekiel), or after the exile, such as Chronicles, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi (about 400 B.C.).

VI. Contents

The contents of the OT, presented in the order of the Protestant versions, may be summarized concisely as follows:

Pentateuch

Genesis through Deuteronomy

Historical

Joshua through Esther

Poetic

Job through Song of Solomon

Prophetic

Isaiah through Malachi

Separate introductions to these four main sections of the OT will be found in the Believers Bible Commentary at the appropriate places.

A Christian who gets a good grasp of these books, along with the later and fuller revelation of the NT, will be “thoroughly furnished for every good work.”

It is our prayer that the BBC will greatly aid many believers to be just that.

VII. Languages

1. Hebrew

Except for a few sections in Aramaic, a related Semitic tongue, the OT was originally written in the Hebrew language.

Believers are not surprised that God used a thoroughly suitable vehicle for the earlier portion of His Word, an expressive language rich in color and idiom, well adapted to the inspired narratives, poetry, and laws that constitute the OT. Hebrew is one of the ancient languages—but it is the only one that (almost miraculously) has been revived as the modern everyday speech of a nation—Israel.

Hebrew is written from right to left, originally in consonants only. The person reading aloud supplied the proper vowel sounds from his knowledge of the language. Providentially, this made it possible for the Hebrew text to remain readable for many centuries, since it is chiefly the vowel sounds that change from century to century, from country to country, and from region to region.

Sometimes what was written (called kethîv), such as the name of God, was thought too sacred to pronounce and so a marginal note told what to read aloud (qere). This was also the case for copyists’ errors and for words that, over the centuries, had come to be considered vulgar.

In the earlier Christian centuries Jewish scholars called Masoretes (from the Hebrew word for

tradition) arose. Seeing that Hebrew was becoming an obsolete language, and desiring to preserve the correct reading of the sacred OT text, they devised a sophisticated phonetic system of dots and dashes above, and in, but chiefly below, the twenty-two Hebrew consonants to indicate the accepted vocalization of the words. Even today this ancient “vowel pointing,” as it is called, is more scientific and precise than English, French, or even German spelling!

The consonantal text is also the source of disputed readings, since a set of consonants at times can be read with different vowels, and therefore different meanings. Usually the context will determine which is original, but not always. The variant spellings of names in Chronicles (see commentary there) that differ from Genesis, e.g., are partly due to this phenomenon.

By and large, however, the traditional, or Masoretic Text, is remarkably well- preserved. It is a living witness to the Jews’ great reverence for God’s Word. Often the ancient versions (Targums, Septuagint, and Vulgate) help us to choose the correct variant where a problem exists. Since the mid-twentieth century the Dead Sea Scrolls have given added information on the Hebrew text—chiefly as a confirmation of the accuracy of the Masoretic Text.

Fortunately for us who read the OT in an English translation, Hebrew translates very nicely into English—much better than it does into Latin, for example, as the great sixteenth century Reformation translator William Tyndale pointed out.

The version on which the BBC is based is a direct descendant of Tyndale’s beginnings in the OT. He managed to complete Genesis through Chronicles and some poetic and prophetic sections before the Inquisition had him burned at the stake for his efforts (1536). His OT work was completed by others and updated in the King James Version of 1611 and more recently in the New King James Version of 1982.

2. Aramaic

Like Hebrew, Aramaic is a Semitic language, but a Gentile one, spoken widely in the ancient world for very many centuries. As Hebrew became a dead language for the Jews, the OT had to be interpreted for them into Aramaic, the closely related, but different, language that they had come to adopt. The script that we associate with Hebrew was probably borrowed from Aramaic about 400 B.C. and developed into the artistic square letters that are familiar to Hebrew students today.

Most of the above facts concerning Hebrew are also true for the Aramaic portions of the OT. These passages are few, and understandably, chiefly concern Israel’s contacts with her Gentile neighbors, such as in the Babylonian Exile and afterward.

VIII. Translation

English is blessed with many translations (perhaps too many!). There are, however, far fewer translations of the OT than of the NT. These translations fall into four general types:

1. Very Literal

J. N. Darby’s “New” Translation of 1882 (NT much earlier), the English Revised Version of 1881 and its U.S. variant, the American Standard Version of 1901, are extremely literal. This makes them helpful for careful study but weak for worship, public reading, and memorization. The masses of believers have never abandoned the majesty and beauty of the Tyndale–King James tradition for these useful—but rather wooden—versions.

2. Optimum Equivalence

Versions that are quite literal and follow the Hebrew or Greek closely when English allows it, yet still permit a freer translation where good style and idiom demand it, include the KJV, the RSV, the NASB, and the NKJV. Unfortunately, the RSV, while generally reliable in the NT, is wedded to an OT that plays down many Messianic prophecies. This dangerous trend is seen today even among some previously sound scholars. The BBC was edited to conform to the NKJV as the most viable position between the beautiful (but archaic) KJV and today’s usage, yet without using any thee’s and thou’s.

3. Dynamic Equivalence

This type of translation is freer than the complete–equivalence type, and sometimes resorts to paraphrase, a valid technique as long as the reader is made aware of it. The NEB, NIV, and the Jerusalem Bible all fall into this category. An attempt is made to put whole thoughts into the structure that Moses and Isaiah might have used if they were writing today—and in English. When done conservatively, this methodology can be a helpful tool. The danger lies in the theological looseness of many translators who use this method.

4. Paraphrase

A paraphrase seeks to transmit the text thought by thought, yet it often takes great liberties in adding material. Since it is far removed from the original text in wording there is always the danger of too much interpretation. The Living Bible, e.g., while evangelical, makes many interpretive decisions that are at best debatable.

It is good to have a Bible from at least three of these categories for purposes of comparison. However, we believe that the complete, or optimum–equivalence translation is safest for the type of detailed Bible study presented in the BBC.

IX. Inspiration

Amid all this welter of historical and technical details we do well to consider the words of the great English Baptist preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon:

This volume is the writing of the living God: each letter was penned with an Almighty finger; each word in it dropped from the everlasting lips; each sentence was dictated by the Holy Spirit. Albeit, that Moses was employed to write his histories with his fiery pen, God guided that pen. It may be that David touched his harp, and let sweet Psalms of melody drop from his fingers; but God moved his hands over the living strings of his golden harp. It may be that Solomon sang canticles of love, or gave forth words of consummate wisdom, but God directed his lips, and made the preacher eloquent. If I follow the thundering Nahum, when his horses plow the waters, or Habakkuk, when he sees the tents of Cushan in affliction; if I read Malachi, when the earth is burning like an oven; . . . it is God’s voice, not man’s; the words are God’s words, the words of the Eternal, the Invisible, the Almighty, the Jehovah of this earth.

INTRODUCTION TO THE PENTATEUCH

“Modern criticism has ventured to undermine and assail almost all the books of holy scripture, but none with such boldness as the Pentateuch, unless it be the prophecy of Daniel. . . . Let us take our stand on the fact, broad, deep, and conclusive, that the authority of Christ has decided the question for all who own Him to be God as well as man.”

—William Kelly

“The Pentateuch is an essential introduction to the entire word of God. It opens up that which is afterwards unfolded, and ever leads us on in hope to a consummation which, though distant, is certain.”

—Samuel Ridout

Before commenting on the individual Books of Moses, since this is such a basic part of biblical revelation, we would like to present a few facts on the Pentateuch as a whole.

I. Titles of the Pentateuch

The first five books of the Bible are commonly called “the Pentateuch.” In ancient times books were in the form of scrolls rather than bound as pages of a “codex” (book form). These scrolls, called teuchoi in Greek, were stored in sheathlike containers. The Greek word for “five-roll” is pentateuchos, whence our word “Pentateuch.”

Jews refer to the Pentateuch as “the Torah” (Heb. tôrâ, “law” or “instruction”), and treat it as the most important part of their Bible.

A third common title of these volumes is “the Books of Moses.” It is ironical that the Bibles of certain northern European countries that most widely reject the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch label these books not as “Genesis, Exodus,” etc., but as “First Book of Moses,” “Second Book of Moses,” etc.

Except for Numbers, whose name is the English translation of the Greek Arithmoi and the Latin Numeri, we retain the Greek LXX (Septuagint) titles of these five books, but anglicize the spelling and pronunciation. (See the individual books in the Believers Bible Commentary for their meanings.)

The Jews often call the books by their first few words in the Hebrew text. Thus Genesis is called Bereshîth (“In the beginning”).

II. Contents of the Pentateuch

The usage of our English word law is more restricted than the Hebrew meanings of tôrâ, hence the term “Pentateuch” is ideal for Christian usage to express the great importance of this five-volume set.

A. Genesis

Genesis is well-named, as it is the Greek word for beginning. The first book of the Bible traces the origins of the universe, the earth, man, marriage, sin, true religion, the nations, diverse languages, and the chosen people. The first eleven chapters recount the broad sweep of human history, but chapters twelve through fifty narrow the story down to the family of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and his sons.

B. Exodus

Exodus, Greek for the way out, narrates how in four hundred years the family of Abraham grew to a nation under the forced labor of the Pharaohs in Egypt, and their redemption from bondage under Moses. The Law of Moses and the detailed description of the tabernacle make up the rest of the book.

C. Leviticus

Leviticus is a manual for the Levites, hence the name. It describes the rituals necessary for sinful men of that era to have fellowship with a holy God. The book contains pictures and types of the sacrifice of Christ.

D. Numbers

Numbers, as the name suggests, includes a numbering of the people, or census— one at the beginning and another at the end of the book. The Hebrew title for the book, “in the desert” (Bemidbãr), is more expressive, since Numbers recounts the historical events experienced by the Israelites in their wilderness wanderings.

E. Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy, Greek for second law, is more than a mere re-telling of the law to a new generation, though it is that. It is the link with the historical books that follow, since it recounts the death of Moses, and his replacement by Joshua, his successor.

Griffith Thomas, in his usual lucid and concise style, summarizes the contents of the Books of Moses as follows:

The five books of the Pentateuch record the introduction of the Divine religion into the world. Each book gives one phase of God’s plan, and together they constitute a real unity. Genesis speaks of the origin of the religion, and of the people chosen by God as its medium. Exodus records the formation of the people into a nation, and the establishment of God’s relationship with it. Leviticus shows the various ways in which this relationship was maintained. Numbers shows how the people were organized for the purpose of commencing the life of the divine religion in the Promised Land. This book also tells of the nation’s failure and the consequent delay, with re-organization. Then Deuteronomy shows how the people were prepared, while on the border of the Promised Land, for the entry which was soon to follow.

III. Importance of the Pentateuch

Since the whole OT, in fact the whole Bible, is based on these first five books, the importance of the Pentateuch for revealed religion can hardly be overstated. If rationalistic, unbelieving scholars can undermine faith in the integrity and authenticity of these books, the origins of Judaism become lost in a sea of uncertainty. Christians should not think that our faith is unaffected by such attacks either, since the NT and our Lord Himself also quote the Books of Moses as true and trustworthy.

Dr. Merrill Unger put the case very bluntly:

The foundation of all revealed truth and of God’s redemptive plan is based on the Pentateuch. If this foundation is unreliable, the whole Bible is unreliable.

IV. Authorship of the Pentateuch

Except for some who in early Christian times opted for Ezra as the author of the Torah, by and large, Judeo-Christian orthodoxy has maintained Mosaic authorship through the centuries—and still does.

A. Mosaic Authorship

Before examining briefly the documentary theory, which largely denies Mosaic authorship, let us note the positive evidence for it.

1. Moses’ Qualifications

The nineteenth century German critic Hartmann denied Mosaic authorship on the grounds that it was quite literally impossible—writing not having yet been invented. (Or, so many thought then!) Archaeology has shown that Moses could have written in early Hebrew script, Egyptian hieroglyphics, or Accadian cuneiform. Of course Act_7:22 told believers long before archaeology confirmed it, that Moses was educated “in all the learning of the Egyptians.” When we say Moses “wrote” the Pentateuch, this allows for his using previous documents in Genesis. It also allows for inspired editorial updatings as Hebrew script changed through the centuries. Of course, the fact that Moses could have written the Pentateuch doesn’t prove that he did. However, as the father of the Jewish faith it is inevitable that he would make a permanent record of God’s revelation for future generations. And so God had commanded him.

2. Pentateuchal Claims

The text of the Torah says specifically that Moses did write down at God’s command on occasion. See, e.g., Exo_17:14; Exo_24:4; Exo_34:27; Num_33:2; Deu_31:19.

3. Later Biblical Claims

The rest of God’s Word accepts Mosaic authorship as well. See, e.g., Jos_1:7 and 1Ki_2:3; and in the NT, Luk_24:44 and 1Co_9:9.

4. The Witness of Christ

For Christians the fact that our Lord Himself accepted Mosaic authorship should settle the matter. The notion that in His humanity Jesus was ignorant of science and history, or that He knew better but accommodated Himself to the ignorance and prejudice of His countrymen is unworthy of a believer’s consideration.

5. Archaeology and the Pentateuch

Many customs, words, names, and historical and cultural details that liberal critics once said were “too late” to be Mosaic have now been found to predate Moses by centuries. While this doesn’t “prove” Mosaic authorship, it tallies much better with the traditional view than it does with the theory that “redactors” or editors living many centuries later knew all these (by then largely lost) details and pieced them together so nicely.

B. The Documentary Hypothesis

In 1753 Jean Astruc, a French doctor, set forth the theory that Moses compiled Genesis from two documents. Those passages that used the name Jehovah for God came from one source, he wrote, and those using Elohim another. These supposed sources he labeled “J” and “E” respectively.

Later, liberal scholars developed the theory much further, eventually putting all their supposed sources much later than Moses. Other proposed documents were “D” (“Deuteronomic”) and “P” (“Priestly”). The Pentateuch was viewed as a patchwork of sources built up between the ninth and sixth centuries B.C. Popularly, the hypothesis became known as the “JEDP theory.”

Several things made the hypothesis attractive to nineteenth-century scholars. First of all it fitted in well with Darwin’s theory of evolution, which was being applied to many fields other than just to biology. Next, the anti-supernaturalistic spirit of the day found delight in trying to put the Bible down on a merely human level. Thirdly, the humanistic trends that replaced divine revelation with man’s efforts dovetailed with this theory.

In 1878 Julius Wellhausen popularized the documentary hypothesis in a clever and deceptively plausible way.

In this short Introduction we can only mention a few of the main points against the theory.

Serious problems with the theory include the following:

1. Lack of Manuscript Evidence

There is no manuscript evidence that any of the editorial work proposed in the “JEDP” theory ever occurred.

2. Conflicting and Subjective Fragmentation

Scholars divide the Pentateuch up into fragments quite differently, which exposes the extreme, personal viewpoints and lack of concrete, objective evidence for the theory.

3. Archaeology

Archaeology has tended to support the writing, customs, religious knowledge, etc., of the Pentateuch as being very ancient, and definitely not from the much later period of composition proposed by the Wellhausen theory.

4. Linguistics

Supposedly “late” language forms and personal names found in the Pentateuch have been found in sources well before the time of Moses. An example is the recently unearthed “Ebla tablets,” which contain many Pentateuchal names.

5. Unity of the Pentateuch

Editorially, the five books of Moses hold together very well and exhibit a unity and coherence that is most difficult to reconcile with the alleged evolutionary “scissors and paste” origins of these books.

6. Spiritual Bankruptcy

Finally, from a spiritual viewpoint, the documentary theories, even as modified by archaeology and other similar theories, are unworthy of the great and beautiful truths enshrined in these books. If these theories were true, the Pentateuch would be, in the words of Dr. Unger, “unauthentic, unhistorical, and unreliable, a fabrication of men, not the work of God.”

V. Date of the Pentateuch

The contents of the Pentateuch take us back to creation, but the actual writing, of course, was thousands of years later. Obviously the date for the writing that we choose is dependent upon who wrote it.

Liberal scholars date the various theorized stages of the work largely as follows: The so-called “J document” is dated about 850 B.C.; the “E document” about 750 B.C.; the “D document” about 621 B.C.; and the “P document” about 500 B.C.

Conservative scholars generally date the Pentateuch around the time of the Exodus, in the fifteenth century B.C. Some prefer a date for this event of about a century and half later.

Probably the best date to fit all the biblical data is sometime between 1450–1410 B.C. See the individual books in the BBC for more details.

VI. Conclusion

We conclude our Introduction to the Pentateuch with the words of Canada’s foremost OT scholar:

The Pentateuch is a homogeneous composition in five volumes, and not an agglomeration of separate and perhaps only rather casually related works. It described, against an accredited historical background, the manner in which God revealed Himself to men and chose the Israelites for special service and witness in the world and in the course of human history. The role of Moses in the formulation of this literary corpus appears pre-eminent, and it is not without good reason that he should be accorded a place of high honor in the growth of the epic of Israelite nationhood, and be venerated by Jews and Christians alike as the great mediator of the ancient Law.

GENESIS

Introduction

“The first book of the Bible is for several reasons one of the most interesting and fascinating portions of Scripture. Its place in the Canon, its relation to the rest of the Bible, and the varied and striking character of its contents combine to make it one of the most prominent in Holy Writ. It is with a real spiritual insight, therefore, that the people of God in all ages have fastened upon this book, and given it their earnest attention.”

—W. H. Griffith Thomas

I. Unique Place in the Canon

Genesis (Greek for “Beginning”), called Bereshîth by the Jews (Hebrew for “In the beginning”), is well named. This exciting volume gives the only true account of creation by the only One who was there—the Creator!

Through His servant Moses, the Holy Spirit traces the beginnings of man, woman, marriage, the home, sin, sacrifices, cities, trade, agriculture, music, worship, languages, and the races and nations of the world. All this in the first eleven chapters.

Then, from chapters 12-50 we see the beginnings of Israel, God’s “test-tube nation,” to be a spiritual microcosm of all the peoples of the world. The lives of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and his twelve sons—especially the attractively devout Joseph, have inspired untold millions, from young children to advanced OT scholars.

A solid grasp of Genesis is necessary for an understanding of the rest of the sixty-five books of the Bible. They all build on its beautifully proportioned literary base.

II. Authorship

We accept the ancient Jewish and Christian teaching that Genesis was written and compiled by Moses the man of God and Lawgiver of Israel. Since all the events in Genesis are pre-Mosaic it is virtually certain that Moses used ancient documents and perhaps oral accounts as he was guided by the Holy Spirit. See

Introduction to the Pentateuch for a discussion of Mosaic authorship.

III. Date

The most conservative scholars generally date the Exodus about 1445 B.C. Hence Genesis would probably have been written between this date and Moses’ death about forty years later. It is always possible, of course, that this one book of the Pentateuch was written before the Exodus, since all the events in Genesis predate that great event.

See Introduction to the Pentateuch for further details.

IV. Background and Themes

Except for those who are extremely biased against the Bible, Judaism, or Christianity, nearly everyone agrees that Genesis is a fascinating account of very ancient times and contains narratives of great beauty, such as the story of Joseph.

But just what is the background of this first book of the Bible. In short, what is it?

Those who reject a personal God have tended to class Genesis as a collection of myths adapted from pagan Mesopotamian myths and “cleaned up” from their worst polytheistic elements for monotheistic Hebrew edification.

Others, not quite as skeptical, see Genesis as a collection of sagas or legends, with some historical value.

Yet others see the stories as explanations of the origins of things in nature and culture (technically called etiologies). There are etiologies in the OT, especially in this book of beginnings (the origin of sin, the rainbow, the Hebrew people, e.g.) but this by no means makes the explanations unhistorical.

Genesis is history. Like all history, it is interpretive. It is theological history, or facts narrated in a framework of the divine plan. It has been well said that “history is His story.”

Though Genesis is the first book of the “law” there is very little legal material in it. It is “Law” (Torah, Heb. for instruction) in that it lays the foundation for Exodus through Deuteronomy and God’s giving of the Law through Moses. In fact, it lays the foundation of all Bible history—yes, of history itself.

The twin themes of blessing and cursing are carefully woven throughout the fabric of Genesis, and indeed, the whole word of God. Obedience brings enrichment of blessing, and disobedience the opposite.

The great curses are the penalties of the fall, the universal Flood, and the confusion of tongues at Babel.

The great blessings are the promise of a Redeemer, the salvation of a remnant through the Flood, and the choice of a special nation to be a channel of God’s grace, Israel.

If Genesis is factual history, how could Moses have known all the ancient genealogies, conversations, events and correct interpretation of these events?

First, let is be said, that archaeology has supported (not “proved” but confirmed and illustrated) the Genesis account in many areas, especially regarding the patriarchs and their customs.

Some nineteenth century liberals, such as Hartmann, taught that Moses could not have written the Pentateuch because writing had not yet been invented! Now we know that Moses could have written in any one of several ancient scripts, being learned in all the lore of Egypt.

Moses no doubt used accounts left by Joseph, and the tablets, parchments, and oral translations brought from ancient Mesopotamia by Abraham and his descendants. These would include the genealogies, the major sections, known as “the generations of Adam,” etc.

In the final analysis this is still not enough. The Holy Spirit of God inspired Moses to choose exactly the right materials and to ignore the rest. He probably supplied details of conversations and other things by direct revelation.

It comes down to a matter of faith. Either God is capable of producing such a work through His servants or He is not. Believers of all generations from primeval times to today have set their seal that God is true.

Archaeology can help us reconstruct the culture of the patriarchs to make the Bible accounts more vivid, but only the Holy Spirit can illuminate the truth of Genesis to our hearts and daily lives.

As you read the Believers Bible Commentary on Genesis—or any of the OT books—you must be dependent on the Spirit’s illumination of the Holy Word itself to really benefit from the comments. A true commentary is not an independent means, but an arrow, pointing to a “thus says the Lord.”

OUTLINE

I. EARTH’S EARLIEST AGES (Chaps. 1-11)

A. The Creation (Chaps. 1, 2)

B. The Temptation and Fall (Chap. 3)

C. Cain and Abel (Chap. 4)

D. Seth and His Descendants (Chap. 5)

E. Widespread Sin and the Universal Flood (Chaps. 6-8)

F. Noah after the Flood (Chap. 9)

G. The Table of Nations (Chap. 10)

H. The Tower of Babel (Chap. 11)

II. THE PATRIARCHS OF ISRAEL (Chaps. 12-50)

A. Abraham (12:1–25:18)

1. The Call of Abraham (12:1-9)

2. To Egypt and Back (12:10–13:4)

3. Experiences with Lot and Abimelech (13:5–14:24)

4. Abraham’s Promised Heir (Chap. 15)

5. Ishmael, Son of the Flesh (Chaps. 16, 17)

6. Sodom and Gomorrah (Chaps. 18, 19)

7. Abraham and Abimelech (Chap. 20)

8. Isaac, Son of the Promise (Chap. 21)

9. The Offering of Isaac (Chap. 22)

10. The Family Burial Place (Chap. 23)

11. A Bride for Isaac (Chap. 24)

12. Abraham’s Descendants (25:1-18)

B. Isaac (25:19–26:35)

1. Isaac’s Family (25:19-34)

2. Isaac and Abimelech (Chap. 26)

C. Jacob (27:1–36:43)

1. Jacob Cheats Esau (Chap. 27)

2. Jacob’s Flight to Haran (Chap. 28)

3. Jacob, His Wives, and His Offspring (29:1–30:24)

4. Jacob Outwits Laban (30:25-43)

5. Jacob’s Return to Canaan (Chap. 31)

6. Jacob and Esau Reconciled (Chaps. 32, 33)

7. Sins at Shechem (Chap. 34)

8. The Return to Bethel (Chap. 35)

9. The Descendants of Jacob’s Brother Esau (Chap. 36)

D. Joseph (37:1–50:26)

1. Joseph Sold into Slavery (Chap. 37)

2. Judah and Tamar (Chap. 38)

3. Joseph’s Test and Triumph (Chap. 39)

4. Joseph Interpreting the Butler’s and Baker’s Dreams (Chap. 40)

5. Joseph Interpreting Pharaoh’s Dreams (Chap. 41)

6. Joseph’s Brothers in Egypt (Chaps. 42-44)

7. Joseph Reveals Himself to His Brothers (Chap. 45)

8. Joseph’s Reunion with His Family (Chap. 46)

9. Joseph’s Family in Egypt (Chap. 47)

10. Jacob’s Blessing of Joseph’s Sons (Chap. 48)

11. Jacob’s Prophecy Concerning His Sons (Chap. 49) 12. Death of Jacob and then of Joseph in Egypt (Chap. 50)

We give thanks and acknowledgement to William MacDonald Believer’s Bible Commentary.

DONATIONS FOR BIBLE DISTRUBUTION — Quovadisworld

On MeWe join our group at Friends in Jesus
We also have a Page about Creation Ministries International.
See also Young Earth Creationists
You can also find us on Parler.

On Facebook;
Join our closed group at : Quo Vadis Christian Community Group to read and partake in the Bible study to learn to know Jesus Christ. To know Him is to Love Him.
We also have an open Page at Quo Vadis Christian Community you might want to know more about.
Please ad yourself to our Messenger group to receive notification and chat to other members of the group.
You may however wish to disable notification and look at post when you have the time.
Join our messenger group at Friends in Jesus.

If you want a Bible please contact: Please let me have a Bible.
If you want a Bible in Pakistan.
You may also want to join Creation Ministries International.
Find more Study topics at Quo Vadis World