Notes on Genesis 1-10

(Originally written April 26, 2007 in Book 16)

Back to the Basic, the foundation

The Oxford Annotated Bible (RSV)

Creation, Adam & Eve and the Fall of Man

1:1 Heavens and Earth
1:2 Earth was without form and void.
- What does form mean? Purpose? Shape?
1:3 Light created
1:4 Light called good, light separated from darkness
1:5 Light called day, darkness called night
- Naming implies ownership. God owes night and day. There can be no dualism here where day is good and night is evil because God owns both.
1:6 Day 2: separates the water from the earth and sky
1:7 God makes sky
1:8 Day 2 ends
1:9 God makes dry land
1:10 God names land "Earth" and the waters "seas"
-Ownership of Earth and seas
1:11 God creates vegetation
1:12 God calls the vegetation good
1:13 End of Day 3
1:14 God creates the stars to serve as signs
-Important note: God creates signs
1:15 The stars give light to the earth
1:16 od specifically purposes the Sun and the moon and the stars
1:17 Purpose of the stars to give light upon the earth
1:18 God calls the stars good
1:19 End of day 4
1:20 God creates fish (sea creatures) and birds (air creatures)
1:21 God calls both the sea creatures and air creatures good
1:22 God gives them purpose/meaning: "Be fruitful and multiply"
1:23 End of Day 5
1:24 God creates land creatures
1:25 God calls the land creatures good
1:26 God sets out to create man in His own image. Man's purpose is to have dominion over the creatures of earth
- "Let us make man in our image" implies a multiplicity in God
1:27 God creates man and woman
1:28 God blesses man and gives him purpose: "Fill the earth and subdue it, take dominion over all the creatures"
1:29 God gives all the plants yielding seeds and fruit to man as food
1:30 God gives the plants to all animals to eat
1:31 Everything God created he calls very good. End of Day 6

2:1 Creation of Everything was complete
-Does this rule out evolution, or at least macro evolution?
2:2 God rested on the 7th day
2:3 God blessed the 7th Day
2:4 Recount of creation
2:5 Day 1: Heaven and earth, but no plants, no rain, no man
2:6 There was only a mist from the earth to water the whole ground
2:7 God formed man from the dust of the ground an breathed life in to him
- This definitely rules out man from the evolutionary cycle
2:8 God plants the Garden of Eden and puts man there
2:9 The tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of Good and evil are planted in the garden with all the other trees
2:10 The River that flowed out of Eden watered the garden and divided into four Rivers
2:11 Pishon flows around the whole land of Havilah. Havilah contains gold.
- What does Pishon mean?
- What does Havilah mean?
- What are the implications of gold existing?
2:12 The gold of Havilah is good. Bdellium and onyx stone are there
- What is the significance of Gold, Bdellium and onyx?
2:13 The rive Giron flows around the whole land of Cush
2:14 The Tigris flows east of Assyria and the 4th river is the Euphrates.
2:15 God gives man purpose in the Garden of Eden: to till and keep it
-Man's existence in paradise was not void of purpose or duty
2:16 The LORD commanded man to eat freely of every tree in the garden
2:17 The LORD commanded man to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil because in the day that you eat of it you shall die.
2:18 God decides that it is not good for man to be alone and decides to make a helper fit for him
2:19 God brings all the creatures to Adam to see what he will call them
- Man's naming of the creatures implies ownership
2:20 There was no suitable helper among all the creatures
2:21 God caused man to have a deep sleep and removed a rib from him
2:22 From man's rib God formed woman and brought her to Adam
2:23 Man calls woman, "woman" because she is the bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh
2:24 Man and woman becomes one flesh
- Institution of marriage by God
- Implicit denial of homosexuality
2:25 Man and Woman are naked, but not ashamed

3:1 The serpent was more subtle than any other wild creature. He asked the woman, "Did God say, 'You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?"
3:2 The woman replied we may eat of any tree
3:3 But, God said you shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die
- The is the first human distortion of God's commands by man. Notice that it is a building on of God's law, not a detraction. This is an interesting point. She tends towards legalism rather than hedonism. What is the significance here?
3:4 The serpent said, "you will not die"
- This is the first refutation or denial of God's claims. It is the first lie.
3:5 The serpent says you won't die, but your eyes will be opened and become like God.
- Now the lie is emboldened by an enticement
- The serpent makes the false claim that downing good and evil is what makes God God
3:6 The woman saw the tree was good for food and was a way to become wise. Thus she ate from it and gave some to her husband who ate.
- There is a conscious decision for the woman to eat and then a conscious decision for the man to eat. Two separate sins.
3:7 They became aware of their nakedness and sewed fig leaves together to make clothes
- The innocence is lost
3:8 Man and woman hide from God who is walking in the garden.
3:9 The LORD calls out to the man and woman
3:10 Man said he hid from God because he was afraid and naked
- First sense of fear
3:11 God accuses man of eating from the tree he was not supposed to eat from.
3:12 The man blames the woman (and God for giving him the woman) for giving him the fruit
- First blasphemy of God
3:13 God asks the woman what have you done? The woman blames the serpent
3:14 God curses the serpent worse than any other animal and forces him to slither on his belly
3:15 God instills enmity between women and serpents
3:16 God curses the woman in child brith by greatly multiplying the pain
-This is interesting that He will increase the pain but not create pain in child birth. Thus, not all pain can be called Evil.
God instills a desire in woman for her husband and places him in charge of her
3:17 God curses the ground as a result of man's sin
3:18 God demands that the ground will bring forth thorns and thistles but that man will nonetheless eat the plants of the field.
3:19 God states that man will return from where he came. man is of dust and will return to dust.
3:20 God called the woman Eve because she was the mother of all living
3:21 The LORD made garments of skin for Adam and Eve and clothed him
- First killing
3:22 God declares that man has become like one of us knowing good and evil and must be stopped from eating of the tree of life and living forever.
3:23 Adam and Eve are banished from the Garden of Eden
3:24 God placed the cherubim and a flaming sword to guard the tree of life from man

4:1 Adam and Eve had sex and Cain was born. She proclaimed that she bore a man by the help of the Lord
- Even after sinning and banishment Eve still acknowledges God and His help
4:2 She then bore Abel. Abel became a sheep herder and Cain became a farmer
4:3 Cain brought an offering to the Lord of fruit
4:4 Abel brought the firstlings of his flock and the fat ones as an offering to the Lord. The Lord accepted Abel's offering
4:5 Cain's offering was not accepted. Cain became very angry.
4:6 The Lord asked why Cain was angry
4:7 The Lord says if you do well you will be accepted, but if you do not do well sin will over take you. He tells Cain that sin desires for him, but that he must master sin.
4:8 Cain lures Abel into the field and murders him
- First murder, significantly different then the 1st killing (Gen. 3:21)
4:9 The Lord asks Cain where his brother is and Cain retorts, "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?"
4:10 The Lord replies, "the voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground"
4:11 The Lord says now you are cursed from the ground
4:12 Cain is diminished to a fugitive and a wanderer of the the earth
4:13 Cain states that his punishment is more than he can bear
4:14 Cain fears that he will be killed since he wanders and is hidden from God
4:15 The Lord marked Cain so that no man would kill him
4:16 Cain left the Presence of the Lord and dwelt in Nod, east of Eden
- This whole situation is intriguing. Despite the banishment from the garden and a murder God has direct contact with Cain. When did this direct contact stop and why?
4:17 Cain took a wife and had a son, Enoch. Cain built a city called Enoch.
4:18 Enoch begat Irad. Iran begat Me-hulja-el. Me-hulja-el begat Me-thu'sha-el. Me-thu'sha-el begat Lamech.
4:19 Lamech had two wives: Adah and Zilla
-first instance of polygamy
4:20 Adah bore Jabal to Lamech. Jabal is the father of those who dwell in tents and have cattle.
4:21 Adah also bore Jubal who became the father of those who play the lyre and pipe.
4:22 Zillah bore Tubal-Cain who was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron
4:23 Lamech said to his wives: I have slain a man for wounding me. I have killed a young man for striking me.
4:24 He said if Cain is avenged seven-fold, Lamech is avenged seventy-seven fold.
4:25 Adam and Eve had Seth. Eve said Seth is appointed by God because Cain slew Abel.
4:26 Seth had a son, Enosh. At this time people began to call upon the name of the LORD.

Genealogies
5:1 "This is the book of the generations of Adam"
- Is this separate from the first four chapters? When God created man he made him in the likeness of God
5:2 God blessed and named them
5:3 At 130 years old Adam had Seth. Seth was in the likeness of Adam
- Adam is in the image of God. Seth in the image of Adam. Is Seth then in the image of God equal to being in the image of God or less?
5:4 Adam had other sons and daughters
5:5 Adam lived 930 years and died
5:6 Seth was 105 years old when he had a son, Enosh
5:7 Seth had other sons and daughters
5:8 Seth lived 912 years and died
- Some say that it is ridiculous to assume this is literal. Others say it is unfair that they live that long. Why did God delay death so long back then? Why is the curse so much harsher now? But, God said that man will fear death all of his life. If we live longer then we fear death longer. Maybe our short lifespans are an act of mercy, not an act of curse.
5:9 Enosh was 90 years old when he had a son, Kenan
5:10 Enosh had many other sons and daughters
5:11 Enosh lived 905 years and died
5:12 Kenan was 70 years old when he had a son, Ma-hal'alel
5:13 Kenan had many other sons and daughter
5:14 Kenan lived 910 years and died
5:15 When Ma-hal'alel lived 65 years when he had a son, Jared
5:16 Ma-hal'alel had other sons and daughters
5:17 Ma-hal'alel lived 895 years and died
- Quick recap Adam - Ma-hal'alel 4,092 years
5:18 Jared had a son, Enoch, when he was 162.
5:19 Jared had other sons and daughters
5:20 Jared lived 962 years and died
- Adam to Jared: 4,892 years
5:21 Enoch had a son, Methuselah, when he was 65
5:22 Enoch had other sons and daughters
5:23 Encoh lived 365 years and then walked with God
5:24 God took Enoch, he did not die
- Adam to Enoch 5,192 years
5:25 Methuselah had Lamech when he was 187 years old
5:26 Methuselah had other sons and daughters
5:27 Methuselah lived 969 years
- Adam to Methuselah: 5,974 years
5:28 Lamech was 182 years old when he had Noah
5:29 Noah is named because he is the one who will bring relief from our work
5:30 Lamech had other sons and daughters
5:31 Lamech lived 777 years and died
- Adam to Lamech: 6,569 years
5:32 Noah had Shem, Ham and Japheth at 500 years old
- Adam to Noah 7,069

Noah & The Flood

6:1 Men began to multiply and daughters were born to them
6:2 "The sons of God saw that the daughters of man were fair and they took to wife such of them as they chose"
- This has been used very oddly, like to prove the intercourse between angels and women. I think this is merely God-fearing men taking up non-God fearing wives.
6:3 The Lord said that man's days are numbered 120 years
- Is this no one will live past 120 years or when the flood will occur, or are years not literal here and the end of earth will come about in 120 'years'.
6:4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days
- What are the Nephilim? The children of the sons of God and the daughters of men were the "mighty men that were of old, the men of renown"
- What does this mean?
6:5 The LORD saw the wickedness of men in those days and saw that their imaginations were always an evil.
6:6 The LORD was sorry that He even made man.
6:7 The Lord decided to blot out man
6:8 Noah however, found favor with the Lord
6:9 Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.
6:10 Noah had 3 sons: Ham, Shem and Japheth
6:11 Earth was corrupt and full of violence
6:12 All flesh had corrupted their way on the earth
6:13 God told Noah he was going to destroy the flesh and the earth
6:14 God commanded Noah to make an ark
6:15 Length of the Ark: 300 cubits, Breadth of the Ark: 50 cubits, Height of the Ark: 30 cubits
6:16 Make the Ark with three decks
6:17 God tells Noah that a flood will kill everything on Earth
6:18 But Noah and his family will be safe by God's covenant with Noah
6:19 Also a male-female of every living thing will be sound on the ark
6:20 Two of every animal will come to Noah and to be kept alive
6:21 God tells Noah to store every sort of food for the flood
6:22 Noah did everything that God commanded

7:1 God commands Noah and his family to enter the Ark
7:2 7 pairs of all clean animals are to be taken into the art and 1 pair of all unclean animals too.
7:3 7 pairs of the birds are also to be taken into the ark
7:4 The flood of rain for 40 days and 40 nights will come in 7 days and blot out all life on earth.
7:5 Noah did all that God commanded of him
7:6 Noah was 600 years old when the flood came
- 7,169 years between Adam and Flood
7:7 Noah and his sons and his sons' wives went into the ark to be saved
7:8 The animals followed Noah into the ark
7:9 Male and female animals followed Noah
7:10 After 7 days, the flood came upon the earth
7:11 The fountains of the great deep burst forth and the windows of the heaven were opened
7:12 Rain fell upon the earth for 40 days and 40 nights
7:13 The flood began the day that Noah and his family entered the ark
7:14 The flood began the day that the animals entered the ark
7:15 Everything that was supposed to enter the ark went in according to its kind
7:16 The LORD shut them all in
7:17 The waters increased for 40 days and nights
7:18 The ark floated on the surface of the water
7:19 Even the mountains were covered by water
7:20 The mountains were covered then by 15 cubits deep
7:21 Everything on the earth died
7:22 Whatever had breath died
7:23 Only Noah and those who were with him survived
7:24 The waters were on the earth for 150 days

8:1 God remembered Noah and everything on the ark. He caused a wind to subside the waters.
8:2 The fountains of the deep were closed; the rain stopped
8:3 After 150 days the water had receded
8:4 The ark came to rest upon the mountains of Ararat.
8:5 After ten months the tops of the mountains were visible
8:6 Noah opened the window of the ark
8:7 He sent out a raven
8:8 Then he sent out a dove
8:9 The dove returned because it had nowhere to rest
8:10 After 7 days he sent the dove out again
8:11 It returned with an olive branch
8:12 He waited another 7 days and sent the dove out again, but it did not return
8:13 Noah removed the covering of the ark and found that it was dry on the surface
8:14 After another month the ground was fully dry
8:15 God spoke to Noah
8:16 God said to Noah take your family and leave the ark
8:17 God told him to release the animals so they could be fruitful and multiply
8:18 Noah left the ark with his family
8:19 Everything left the ark
8:20 Noah built an altar and made sacrifices to the LORD
8:21 Upon smelling the odor God vowed never to curse the ground again because of man or to destroy every living creature
- God says that the imagination of men's heart is evil from his youth
- God smelled and maybe anthropomorphic isn't as bad as it is expected
8:22 He promised that so long as the earth exists the seasons and day and night will not cease

9:1 God blessed Noah and his sons and told them to be fruitful and multiply the earth
9:2 He told them that every living creature will fear man and be delivered unto them
9:3 God gives them everything that exist as food
- The first condoning of meat-eating
9:4 God says not to eat flesh when it is still alive, no eating of blood
9:5 This is a sin that will require a reckoning
9:6 God warns that whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed because man is made in the image of God
9:7 God tells them to be fruitful and multiply the earth
9:8 God spoke to Noah and his sons
9:9 God establishes a covenant with them
9:10 God establishes a covenant with everything that came out of the ark
9:11 This covenant states that never again will God destroy the earth by flood
9:12 God gives them a sign of the covenant
9:13 The rainbow is the sign
9:14 When the rainbow is seen...
9:15 ... God will remember this covenant
9:16 It is an everlasting covenant between flesh and God
9:17 God tells Noah this is the sign of the covenant between God and all flesh that is on the earth
9:18 Shem, Ham and Japheth were the sons of Noah who got off the Ark. Ham was the father of Canaan.
9:19 From the sons of Noah the whole earth was peopled.
9:20 Noah tilled the soil and planted a vineyard
9:21 He drank wine and became drunk and laid naked in his tent
9:22 Ham, the father of Canaan saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers
- This may mean that he raped him. Is this true?
9:23 Shem and Japheth covered Noah without looking at him naked
9:24 Noah awoke and knew what Ham (his youngest) had done to him
9:25 Noah cursed Canaan: "a slave of slaves shall he be to his brothers"
9:26 Noah blessed Shem and said let Canaan be his slave
9:27 Noah played that Japheth would prosper and that Canaan would also be his slave.
9:28 After the flood Noah lived 350 years
9:29 Noah lived 950 years
- Adam to the death of Noah: 7,519 years

10:1 The generations of Noah, Shem, Ham and Japheth
10:2 Sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Jovan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras
10:3 Sons of Gomer: Ash, Kenaz, Riphath and Togar'mah
10:4 Sons of Javan: Eli'shah, Tarshish, Kittim and Do'danim
10:5 Japheth - They have their own lands, their own language and their own nations
10:6 Sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put and Canaan
10:7 Sons of Cush: Seba, Hav'ilah, Sabtah, Ra'amah and Sab'teca. Sons of Ra'amah: Sheba and Dedan
10:8 Cush became the father of Nimrod, Nimrod was the first mighty man
10:9 Nimrod was a mighty hunter before the Lord
10:10 Nimrod's kingdom was Ba'bel, Erech, and Accad, all in the land of Shiner
10:11 From there Nimrod went into Assyria and built Nineveh, Reho'both-Ir and Calah
10:12 Rosen between Nineveh and Calah is a great city
10:13-13 Egypt became the Father of Ludim, An'amim, Leha'bim, Naph-tu'him, Pathru'sim, Caslu'him (where the Philistines force from) and Caph'torim
10:15 Canaan begat: Sidon and Heth
10:16-18 Canaan is the father of: the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hives, the Arkoites, the Simites, the Arlvadites, the Zem'arites, and the Ha'mathites. The families of the Canaanites spread abroad.
10:19 The territory of the Canaanites extends from Sidon to Gaza to Admah to Lasha
10:20 These are the sons of Ham
10:21 Shem is the father of all the children of Eber
10:22 The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arpach'shad, Lud and Aram
10:23 The sons of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether and Mash
10:24 Arpach'shad begat Shelah. Shellac begat Eber
10:25 Eber's sons: Peleg and Joktan
10:26-29 The sons of Joktan: Almo'dad, Sheleph, Hazarma'reth, Jerah, Hador'am, Uzal, Diklah, Obal, Abim'a-el, Sheba, Ophir, Hav'ilah and Jobab.
10:30 The sons of Joktan occupy the territory from Mesha to the hill country of the east
10:31 These are the sons of Shem
10:32 These are the descendants of Noah, according to their nations. These spread abroad the whole art after the flood.