Mount Sinai and the Founding of a Culture The content of Genesis was given to Moses on Mt. Sinai It is unknown whether or not the Israelites already had a distinct creation tradition before this time The Effect of this Setting on the Text The revelation given in Genesis focuses on information that will lay a foundation for the Old Covenant Genesis as a Suzerain-Vassal Treaty It identifies who God is It identifies who man is It tells the history of God’s relationship with the forefathers of the Israelites

Observations from the Structure of the Days Every day begins with God speaking Every day ends by being numbered God stops naming things in the first half of the third day Only animated creatures are blessed Man is the only created thing which God speaks “to” Creation is earth and man centered

Observations from The Text FormlessVoidDay Item Created Day 1 Light and Darkness 4 Sun, Moon, Stars for keeping time/seasons 2 Sea and Sky 5 Creatures for the Sea and Sky 3 Fertile Earth and Plants 6 Creatures for the Earth and Plants

Literary Structure of the Days Day Repeated Phrases Day 1 A-C-D-B-E-FA-C-D-B-E-FA-C-D-B-E-FA-C-D-B-E-F4 A-C-B-D-FA-C-B-D-FA-C-B-D-FA-C-B-D-F 2 A-B-C-E-FA-B-C-E-FA-B-C-E-FA-B-C-E-F5 A-B-D-G-FA-B-D-G-FA-B-D-G-FA-B-D-G-F 3 A-C-E-D-A-C-B-D-FA-C-E-D-A-C-B-D-FA-C-E-D-A-C-B-D-FA-C-E-D-A-C-B-D-F6 A-C-B-D-A-B-G-*-C-D-FA-C-B-D-A-B-G-*-C-D-FA-C-B-D-A-B-G-*-C-D-FA-C-B-D-A-B-G-*-C-D-F A) The Divine Quotation B) The Action Taken C) The Declaration of Completion D) The Pronounced State of Goodness E) The Naming of the Creation F) The Numbering of the Day G) Blessing Upon Living Creatures “And God said…” “And God made…” “And it was so.” “And God saw…it was good” “And God called…” “…evening and morning, the … day” “And God blessed them…”

Gap Theory Interpretations of Genesis 1:1-2 `#r ~yIm:ßV'h; taeî ~yhi_l{a/ ar"äB' tyviÞarEB. ~Ah+t. ynEåP.-l[; %v,xoßw> Whboêw" ‘Whto’ ht'îy>h' #r ~Ah+t. ynEåP.-l[; %v,xoßw> Whboêw" ‘Whto’ ht'îy>h' #r `~yIM")h; ynEïP.-l[; tp,x,Þr:m. ~yhiêl{a/ x:Wråw `~yIM")h; ynEïP.-l[; tp,x,Þr:m. ~yhiêl{a/ x:Wråw> was/became 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, 2 and the earth was/became formless and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering upon the face of the waters. “formless and void” see also Jeremiah 4:23 and Isaiah 34:11

Textual Issues with the Gap Interpretation Placing a catastrophic judgment before the creation of light requires one to assume the fall of Satan occurred before creation It only answers one of the key objections to Scripture The Gap theory seeks to explain Age of rock according to atomic dating methods Astronomical distances Extinction of dinosaurs before man Stars are not created until the fourth day Dinosaurs clearly would have been the living creatures created on the sixth day

God is the maker, EVERYTHING else is made This addressed the polytheism of their day This did not rule out the existence of other “gods” This established that even the “gods” were made There was no need to address atheism Seven day pattern of life is a set at the beginning The Sabbath is not just a ‘Jewish Cultural Day” “Sabbath” in Hebrew Means both “rest” and “seven” It has more the idea of cessation of activity then that of recuperating from strenuous work

Man bears the image of God Amêl.c;B. ‘~d"a'h'¥-ta, ~yhiÛl{a/ ar"’b.YIw: At=ao ar"äB' ~yhiÞl{a/ ~l,c,îB. `~t'(ao ar"îB' hb'Þqen>W rk"ïz" God created man in His image God created man male and female A=B, A=B, A=C therefore B=C