the torah
Genesis
Date and Author
We have no certain information about the authorship of Genesis , though early Biblical tradition views Moses as having a significant role in transmitting and perhaps even formulating the traditions preserved in the book . The oral nature of ancient culture may suggest that actual written forms of the traditions came much later , though whenever they were produced , they maintained their connectedness to the authority figures , such as Moses , who were instrumental . Regardless of the date of the final writing , the text largely preserves its mid-second-millennium BC context and perspective .
Literary Setting
key concepts
• The covenant is God ’ s program of revelation .
• The focus of creation is the establishment and maintenance of order and operation .
• The stories in the Bible are stories about God .
Literary genres have rules and conventions by which they operate . Communication is jeopardized if we do not understand the parameters of the genre of the literature we are reading . How confusing it would be if we were reading a mystery in which the author gave every appearance of writing a biography ! But at the same time , the features that indicate whether a literary work is a mystery or biography are to some extent culturally determined . The reason that genre categories work is that the categories represent a consensus of expectation among the readers .
When we approach a book like Genesis , we must be aware of what genres we will be encountering . But just as important , we must adjust our expectations so that we will come to those genres understanding the ancient conventions attached to that genre rather than imposing our own genre conventions on their literature .
Genesis contains cosmogony texts , i . e ., texts that deal with the origins of key aspects of the cosmos . It also contains genealogies ( e . g ., chs . 5 ; 11 ; 36 ), founders ’ or ancestors ’ narratives ( e . g ., chs . 12 – 35 ), destiny proclamations ( i . e ., formal blessings and / or curses from father to son , e . g ., chs . 9 ; 27 ; 49 ), conflict tales ( e . g ., chs . 4 ; 6 – 7 ; 11 ; 19 ; 34 ), battle accounts ( e . g ., ch . 14 ), and a narrative about the rise of a courtier from humble beginnings to a position of power ( chs . 40 – 45 ). Some of these are unparalleled in the ancient world , and even when possible parallels exist , significant differences lead us to proceed with caution . ◆