Post by paulmurdoch1975 on Sept 9, 2011 23:56:32 GMT
The Book of Genesis
Part I
Professor Biography ............................................................................................i
Course Scope.......................................................................................................1
Lecture One On Reading the Book of Genesis...............................2
Lecture Two Genesis 1, The First Creation Story...........................5
Lecture Three Genesis 2–3, The Second Creation Story ..................7
Lecture Four An Overview of Ancient Israelite History .................9
Lecture Five The Ancient Near East.............................................11
Lecture Six The JEDP Theory and Alternative Approaches.......13
Lecture Seven Genesis 6–8, The Flood Story .................................16
Lecture Eight Genesis 9, Covenant ................................................20
Lecture Nine Genesis 12–22, The Abraham Story ........................23
Lecture Ten When and Where Did Abraham Live? ....................25
Lecture Eleven Genesis 21–22, Abraham Put to the Test.................27
Lecture Twelve Women in the Bible—Sarah and Hagar ..................29
Map of the Ancient Near East circa 1400 B.C.E............................................31
Timeline of Israelite History ............................................................................32
Biblical Names—People and Places ................................................................33
Glossary .............................................................................................................37
Biblical Scholars ...............................................................................................44
Bibliography......................................................................................................45
Egyptian Chronology (Lecture 23) ......................................................Part Two
Essay: Mummification (Lecture 23) ....................................................Part Two
Essay: The Hebrew Language ..............................................................Part Two
ii ©2006 The Teaching Company Limited Partnership
----------------------- Page 4-----------------------
The Book of Genesis
Scope:
This course of 24 lectures focuses on the first book of the Bible (in both the Jewish and Christian canons), the book
of Genesis. This particular book is an extremely rich text that can be approached from a variety of perspectives,
including literary, historical, theological, and archaeological. Most of the stories in Genesis (creation, flood,
Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, and so on) are well known, but many crucial issues in the study of the book are less
familiar to general audiences. We will present these issues in a detailed fashion; the 24 lectures afford us plenty of
time to work through the 50 chapters of the book of Genesis.
The course will speak to the different perspectives listed above. First and foremost, we will approach the text as a
piece of literature, highlighting the many literary devices and techniques employed by the ancient author(s) of the
book. In so doing, we will demonstrate that what on the surface may look like rather simple tales are, in fact, the
products of great literary sophistication. This finding bespeaks not only a remarkably gifted author but also an
ancient Israelite audience that could appreciate and understand literature of such high quality and brilliance. We are
led to conclude that literature played a central role in the life of ancient Israel, thus establishing at a very early time
the notion that the Jews are the people of the book.
We will talk about the history that lies behind the book of Genesis. We will address such questions as when
Abraham lived, where his birthplace of Ur was located, under which pharaoh did Joseph serve, and so on. We will
also raise even more fundamental questions, such as did Abraham and Jacob and Joseph and so on exist at all, or
were they simply literary creations of ancient Israelite literati? To answer these questions, we will need to look at
other ancient Near Eastern sources from the three main regions: Egypt, Canaan, and Mesopotamia. Thus, this course
also will provide an introduction to these neighboring cultures, especially as they affect our understanding of the
Bible.
We will delve into theological issues. What can we learn about the religion of ancient Israel from reading these
stories? Did the ancient Israelites believe in one God? Or did they only worship one God without denying the
existence of other deities? And what was the nature of the God of Israel? Was he similar to the other deities of the
ancient Near East? Or was he uniquely different? Was he, in fact, even a he? Religion is more than the conception
of the deity, however; it also includes the relationship between God and man, and this, too, embodied in the
covenant concept of the Bible, will be a topic of exploration in this course.
As intimated above in the paragraph about history, this course will use a vast array of archaeological evidence to
illuminate issues in the book of Genesis. The evidence, both textual and artifactual, will come from across the
ancient Near Eastern landscape, from Mesopotamia in the northeast, from Canaan most proximate to Israel, and
from Egypt in the southwest. We are required to retain such broad horizons because the book of Genesis itself does
so. Abraham is born in Mesopotamia; he migrates to the land of Canaan; his grandson Jacob returns to
Mesopotamia, where he lives for 20 years; and at the end of the book, Joseph and his brothers are resident in Egypt.
Most importantly, we will deal with questions of authorship. Is the book of Genesis the result of a haphazard
compilation of disparate sources? Or does it present itself as a unified literary whole, suggesting a single author?
And in either case, when might the book have been written and/or achieved its final written form?
Finally, we will explore various other issues that emanate from our reading of Genesis. Often, these topics will be of
interest to biblical studies in a wider scope. For example, we will explore the question of women in the Bible: Why
does the Bible include so many female characters, especially in comparison to other ancient Near Eastern literature,
and why are these women often portrayed in unexpectedly heroic fashion, often at the expense of the male
characters? We will discuss different translations of the Bible: Why are there so many different versions? How are
they different? How are they similar? And we will take time to consider the way later generations of Jews and
Christians understood the Bible, especially given that these later readings are often quite different from the original
authorial intent.
In sum, the multifaceted book of Genesis allows for numerous avenues of inquiry: We will do our utmost in this
course to tackle all of them.
©2006 The Teaching Company Limited Partnership
When you read this book could you leave feedback below so that others that want to read this book can see your point of view on it .
Thank you
blue.utb.edu/gibson/Genesis%20Summary.pdf
Part I
Professor Biography ............................................................................................i
Course Scope.......................................................................................................1
Lecture One On Reading the Book of Genesis...............................2
Lecture Two Genesis 1, The First Creation Story...........................5
Lecture Three Genesis 2–3, The Second Creation Story ..................7
Lecture Four An Overview of Ancient Israelite History .................9
Lecture Five The Ancient Near East.............................................11
Lecture Six The JEDP Theory and Alternative Approaches.......13
Lecture Seven Genesis 6–8, The Flood Story .................................16
Lecture Eight Genesis 9, Covenant ................................................20
Lecture Nine Genesis 12–22, The Abraham Story ........................23
Lecture Ten When and Where Did Abraham Live? ....................25
Lecture Eleven Genesis 21–22, Abraham Put to the Test.................27
Lecture Twelve Women in the Bible—Sarah and Hagar ..................29
Map of the Ancient Near East circa 1400 B.C.E............................................31
Timeline of Israelite History ............................................................................32
Biblical Names—People and Places ................................................................33
Glossary .............................................................................................................37
Biblical Scholars ...............................................................................................44
Bibliography......................................................................................................45
Egyptian Chronology (Lecture 23) ......................................................Part Two
Essay: Mummification (Lecture 23) ....................................................Part Two
Essay: The Hebrew Language ..............................................................Part Two
ii ©2006 The Teaching Company Limited Partnership
----------------------- Page 4-----------------------
The Book of Genesis
Scope:
This course of 24 lectures focuses on the first book of the Bible (in both the Jewish and Christian canons), the book
of Genesis. This particular book is an extremely rich text that can be approached from a variety of perspectives,
including literary, historical, theological, and archaeological. Most of the stories in Genesis (creation, flood,
Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, and so on) are well known, but many crucial issues in the study of the book are less
familiar to general audiences. We will present these issues in a detailed fashion; the 24 lectures afford us plenty of
time to work through the 50 chapters of the book of Genesis.
The course will speak to the different perspectives listed above. First and foremost, we will approach the text as a
piece of literature, highlighting the many literary devices and techniques employed by the ancient author(s) of the
book. In so doing, we will demonstrate that what on the surface may look like rather simple tales are, in fact, the
products of great literary sophistication. This finding bespeaks not only a remarkably gifted author but also an
ancient Israelite audience that could appreciate and understand literature of such high quality and brilliance. We are
led to conclude that literature played a central role in the life of ancient Israel, thus establishing at a very early time
the notion that the Jews are the people of the book.
We will talk about the history that lies behind the book of Genesis. We will address such questions as when
Abraham lived, where his birthplace of Ur was located, under which pharaoh did Joseph serve, and so on. We will
also raise even more fundamental questions, such as did Abraham and Jacob and Joseph and so on exist at all, or
were they simply literary creations of ancient Israelite literati? To answer these questions, we will need to look at
other ancient Near Eastern sources from the three main regions: Egypt, Canaan, and Mesopotamia. Thus, this course
also will provide an introduction to these neighboring cultures, especially as they affect our understanding of the
Bible.
We will delve into theological issues. What can we learn about the religion of ancient Israel from reading these
stories? Did the ancient Israelites believe in one God? Or did they only worship one God without denying the
existence of other deities? And what was the nature of the God of Israel? Was he similar to the other deities of the
ancient Near East? Or was he uniquely different? Was he, in fact, even a he? Religion is more than the conception
of the deity, however; it also includes the relationship between God and man, and this, too, embodied in the
covenant concept of the Bible, will be a topic of exploration in this course.
As intimated above in the paragraph about history, this course will use a vast array of archaeological evidence to
illuminate issues in the book of Genesis. The evidence, both textual and artifactual, will come from across the
ancient Near Eastern landscape, from Mesopotamia in the northeast, from Canaan most proximate to Israel, and
from Egypt in the southwest. We are required to retain such broad horizons because the book of Genesis itself does
so. Abraham is born in Mesopotamia; he migrates to the land of Canaan; his grandson Jacob returns to
Mesopotamia, where he lives for 20 years; and at the end of the book, Joseph and his brothers are resident in Egypt.
Most importantly, we will deal with questions of authorship. Is the book of Genesis the result of a haphazard
compilation of disparate sources? Or does it present itself as a unified literary whole, suggesting a single author?
And in either case, when might the book have been written and/or achieved its final written form?
Finally, we will explore various other issues that emanate from our reading of Genesis. Often, these topics will be of
interest to biblical studies in a wider scope. For example, we will explore the question of women in the Bible: Why
does the Bible include so many female characters, especially in comparison to other ancient Near Eastern literature,
and why are these women often portrayed in unexpectedly heroic fashion, often at the expense of the male
characters? We will discuss different translations of the Bible: Why are there so many different versions? How are
they different? How are they similar? And we will take time to consider the way later generations of Jews and
Christians understood the Bible, especially given that these later readings are often quite different from the original
authorial intent.
In sum, the multifaceted book of Genesis allows for numerous avenues of inquiry: We will do our utmost in this
course to tackle all of them.
©2006 The Teaching Company Limited Partnership
When you read this book could you leave feedback below so that others that want to read this book can see your point of view on it .
Thank you
blue.utb.edu/gibson/Genesis%20Summary.pdf