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INTRODUCTION to the PENTATEUCH (Torah)

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law and the Prophets;
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, till
heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law
until all is accomplished.”Mt 5:17-18

“Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; it is Moses who
accuses you, on whom you set your hope. If you believed Moses, you would
believe me, for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how
will you believe my words?” Jn 5:45-46

1 The Aim of the Course > to be familiar with:

1. The introduction, contents and literary forms of the Torah. 2. Ancient and
modern beliefs about how the Torah and its sources were compiled. 3. The
major events and figures of salvation history as recorded in the Torah. 4.
Structure and theme of each book of the Torah. 5. The theological vision of
God embodied and revealed in the Pentateuch. 6. Exegetical study on the
selected texts from the Torah

2 The Pentateuch
2.1 The term Pentateuch is originated from the Greek name Penteteuchos
(Πεντετεύχως). But the book was originally written in Hebrew and its
original name was in Hebrew: Torah.
2.2 The Torah The accurate meaning the term Torah is instruction,
direction or teaching. Generally it is rendered into English by the term
“Law” (Mt 5:17; Lk 16:17; Acts 7:53; Cor 9:8.) When the Greek scholars
translated the Hebrew text into Greek. They have have given the title
Pentateuch because the Torah was in five scrolls. Pentateuch =
“Πεντετεύχως” pente (five) and teuchoi (scrolls or volumes) = five Scrolls
or volumes

2.3 Biblical names for the Pentateuch (Torah)

i The Book of Moses (Ezra 6:18; Neh 13:1; 2 Chr 25:4; 35:12; Mark 12:26)
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ii The Book of the Law (Deut 29:21; 30:10; 31:26; Josh 1:8; 8:34; 2 Kgs
22:8, 11; 2 Chr 34:15; Neh 8:3; Gal 3:10).
iii. The book of the Law of YHWH (Neh 9:3; 2 Chr 17:9;34:14).
iv. The book of the law of God (Neh 8:18)
v. The Book of the law of Moses (Josh 8:31;23:6; 2 Kgs 14:6; Neh 8:1).
vi. The Law of Moses (Josh 8:32; 1 Kgs 2:3; 2 Kgs 23:25; Dan 9:11, 13;
Ezra 3:2; 7:6; 2 Chr 23:18; 30:16; Luke 2:2; 24:44; John 7:23;Acts 13:39;
15:5; 28:23; 1 Cor 9:9; Heb 10:28).
vii. Moses (Lk 24:27; Jn 5:46–47)
2.4 The Volumes of the Pentateuch (Torah)
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
2.5 The Hebrew and Greek titles of the books of Torah
Bereshith (In the Beginning)
(Velle) Shemoth (Names)
Wayiqra (And he called)
Bamidbar (In the desert)
(Velle) Debarim (the Words)
According to Hebrew style the first term of the book became the name
of the book. But the Greeks named the books according to the content of the
book.
Greek Names
Gheneseos (Generations)
Exodos (departure or way out)
Leuitikon (book of the Levites)
Arithmoi (numbers)
Deutronomos (Second Law)

2.6 An Overview of the PENTATEUCH

2.6. 1 Genesis:
a. From Adam to Abraham (Genesis 1-11)
b. The Life of Abraham (Genesis 12-22)
c. The Life of Isaac (Genesis 23-26)
d. The Life of Jacob (Genesis 27-36)
e. The Life of Joseph (Genesis 37-50)
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2.6. 2 Exodus
a. Moses and the Exodus (Exodus 1-18)
b. Mount Sinai and the Ten Commandments (Exodus 19-20)
c. The Making of the Covenant (Exodus 21-24)
d. The Building of the Tabernacle (Exodus 25-40)
2.6.3 Leviticus
a. Priestly Sacrifice and Priestly Ordination (Leviticus 1-10)
c. The Laws of Purity (Leviticus 11-15)
d. The Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16)
e. The Holiness Code (Leviticus 17-25)
f. The Covenant Blessings and Curses (Leviticus 26-27)
2.6.4 Numbers:
a. The Twelve Tribes at Mount Sinai (Numbers 1-10)
b. The Journey from Sinai to Kadesh (Numbers 10-12)
c. The Twelve Tribes at Kadesh (Numbers 13-20)
d. The Journey from Kadesh to Moab (Numbers 20-21)
e. On the Plains of Moab (Numbers 22-36)
2.6. 5 Deuteronomy
a. Moses’ Sermon to the Israelites (Deuteronomy 1-4)
b. Recapitulation of the Law of Sinai (Deuteronomy 5-11)
c. The Constitution of the Nation of Israel (Deuteronomy 12-26)
d. The Ratification of the Deuteronomic Covenant (Deuteronomy 27)
e. Moses’ Prophecies of the Future (Deuteronomy 28-30)
f. Moses’ Last Words and Death (Deuteronomy 31-34)
2.7 Who wrote the Pentateuch?
2.7.1 The traditional view: The Mosaic Authorship
1) Evidence from the Torah for Mosaic Authorship
a) The Pentateuch itself gives indications of Moses as its writer: He
was ordered to write historical facts (Ex 17:14; Num 33:1-2), laws (Ex
24:4, 7; 34:27ff; Deut 31:9) and one poem (Deut 31: 22).
2) External Biblical Evidence for Mosaic Authorship
a) Moses is affirmed as the author in the rest of the Old Testament:
(Joshua 1:7-8; 8:32, 34; 22:5; 1Kings 2:3; 2Kings 14:6; 21:8; Ezra
6:18; Dan 9:11-13; Mal 4:4).
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b) From the New Testament. The New Testament refers to Moses as

the author of the Pentateuch (Mt 19:18; Mk 12:26; Lk 2:22; 16:29; 27;
Jn 5:46-47; 7:19; Acts 13:39; Rom 10:5).
3) The Talmud refers to the first five books of the Bible as “the Books of
Moses.” The Mishnah, the Jewish historian Josephus and Philo and
the Church Fathers both accepted Mosaic authorship of the
Pentateuch.
2.7.2 The Challenges against the Traditional View
a) Moses could not have narrated his own death (Dt 34:5-6) and the
succession of Joshua (Dt 34:9-12).
b) Moses would not have stated that he was the “most meek” man alive.
(Num 12:3)
c) Chronological References reflect a later time: (Anachronisms): i
Reference to Canaanites (Gen 12:6) ii) Reference to Kings of Israel (Gen
36:31).
d). The report about the burial place of Moses. Dt. 34:6. And he [Yahweh]
buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one
knows the place of his burial to this day.
e) Geographical references from the later period. When the east side of the
Jordan would be “beyond the Jordan”;Dt. 1:5. Beyond the Jordan, in the
land of Moab, Moses undertook to explain this law…. (cf. 1:1; 3:8, 35; 4:41,
46–47, 49). Genesis 14:14 “When Abram heard that his relative had been
taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and
went in pursuit as far as Dan.” Dan did not exist as the name of a city until
the period of the Judges (cf. Judges 18).
f) Apparent Contradictions point to Multiple Authors (Gen 1 vs. 2; Gen 6-9).
g) Presence of Doublets points to Multiple Authors:i) Two creation stories
(Gen 1 & 2) ii) Patriarch lying about his wife being his sister (Gen 12, 20,
26).
h) Objections to Mosaic authorship have a long history. Ephiphanius:
heretics rejected Mosaic authorship in 2nd century AD. Ibn Ezra from the 12
the century highlighted chronological disorder. Thomas Hobbes: Moses
antedated Pentateuch (1651). Baruch Spinoza: Jewish scholar (17th century):
Repetitions and Contradictions point to multiple authors
i. Many today reject Mosaic authorship.
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ii. Many of the scholars today affirm that the stories in the Pentateuch likely
differradically from the early material behind the text (i.e., whether earlier
sources or what actually happened).
iii. They believe the Pentateuchal text resulted from a long process of joining
and editing material that wasoften contradictory and had little connection
with Moses.
iv. Most today see the Pentateuch as a unified work void of long redaction or
tradition histories; however, the same scholars tend to treat the text as out-
and-out fiction with little or no historical moorings and having a very late
provenance in the history of Israel.

2.8 The Pontifical Biblical Commission “On the Mosaic Authorship of

the Pentateuch” (1906)
a) Whether the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch necessarily demands
that the whole work was so produced that it is absolutely necessary to hold
that everything in it was written by Moses with his own hand or dictated to
secretaries?
b) Or whether the hypothesis is admissible according to which he conceived
the work itself under the influence of divine inspiration, but entrusted to
another person or persons to write it down; in such a way, however, that they
faithfully produced his thoughts, wrote nothing against his will, or omitted
anything; and finally, the work produced was approved by Moses, as the
principal and inspired author, and made public under his name?
Reply: Negative to the first part. Affirmative to the second part
2.9 Documentary Hypothesis
Julius Wellhausen: A German biblical scholar in 1880s purposed a
documentary hypothesis in order to explain the composition of the
Pentateuch.
According to him Moses did not author Pentateuch at all. It is a piecing
together of different sources at a later times. In his hypothesis there are 4
Sources for the Pentateuch that are abbreviated “J,” “E,” “D,” and “P.”
2.9.1 Key points of the Documentary Hypothesis
1. The use of different names for the Deity.
2. Variations of language and style.
3. Contradictions and divergences of view.
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4. Duplications and repetitions.

5. Signs of composite structure in various sections.
a) The use of different names for the Deity
E.g. Gen. 1 calls God with simple or generic name of Elohim, while Gen. 2
since the creation, use the divine name revealed to Moses believed, that
YHWH. This became the most important criterion for the identification of
the different sources or documents of the Pentateuch.
b) Repetitions and different views
The story of creation is repeated twice, in a different order. In the first
story (Gen 1), the order is: plants, animals and human beings as male-
female. In the second story (Gen 2), however, it is first created man, then
plants, then animals, and finally the woman. In Genesis 4 to 5 are two
different genealogies from Adam to Lamech. The first lists seven names:
Adam, Cain, Enoch, Irad, Mecuyael, Metushael, Lamech. The second one he
lists ten: Adam, Set, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Irad, Enoch, Metushelach,
Lamech, Noah. Some names are identical or nearly so in the two lists, but
the number and order are greatly different. How to explain these differences
if not postulating a diversity of authors?
Twice the expulsion of Hagar is told from the house of Abraham: in
Genesis 16 before the birth of Ishmael; in Genesis 21 after the birth of her
son.
c) Different Style
d) There are at least two parallel stories about the water gushed from the
rock: Ex 17 and Num 20, at the beginning and end of the route through the
desert, to the point that the tradition arose that this rock spring accompany
the march of Israelites.
2.9.2 J: The Yahwist Source
1. Date: 10th century B.C. (oldest of the four sources)
2. From: Judah Province
3. Style: simple, using YHWH for the name of God
4. Theology: anthropomorphic view of God (e.g., Genesis 2)
2.9.3 E: The Elohist Source
1. Date: 9th century B.C.
2. From: northern kingdom of Israel
3. Style: moralistic, using name Elohim for Deity
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4. Theology: viewed God as transcendent (e.g., Genesis 1)

5. History: after 722 B.C., northerners fled south with E document; later
joined to J by an unknown redactor
2.9.4 D: The Deuteronomist Source
1. Date: 6th century B.C.
2. From: Jewish priests in the exile
3. Focus: genealogies, priestly rubrics of worship, holiness (e.g., Leviticus)
4. History: authored by final editors of the Pentateuch; 4th-5th centuries
B.C.
2.9.5 P: The Priestly Source
1. Date: 6th century B.C.
2. From: Jewish priests in the exile
3. Focus: genealogies, priestly rubrics of worship, holiness (e.g., Leviticus)
4. History: authored by final editors of the Pentateuch; 4th-5th centuries
B.C.
2.9.6 Formation of the Pentateuch
The events
Oral Tradition
Document J (950 B.C.)
Document E (850 B.C.)
Redaction of JE (720 B.C.)
Document D (621 B.C.)
Redaction of JED (550 B.C.)
Document P (500 B.C.)
Redaction JEDP (450–400 B.C.)
2.9.7 Critiques of the Documentary Hypothesis
1. The existence of J, E, D, and P is purely hypothetical. No one has ever
found a manuscripts of J, E, D, P.
2. The Bible never alludes to the J, E, D, or P documents, even though it
frequently and refers to other literary sources.
a. “The book of generations of Adam” (Gen 5:1)
b. “The book of the Wars of YHWH” (Num 21:14)
c. “The book of Jashar” (Josh 10:13; 2 Sam 1:18)
d. “The book of the annals of Solomon” (1 Kgs 11:41)
e. “The book of the annals of the Kings of Israel” (1 Kgs 14:19, 35)
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f. “The book of the kings of Judah and Israel” (2Chron 16:11;

20:34;24:27)
g. “The book of the annals of the kings of Media” (Esth 10:2)
3 Highly Speculative nature of the Theory
a. The text is written in ancient language, not our native tongue
b. Over two millennia separate us from the culture of the text
4 No Real Consensus among Scholars, despite textbook simplifications
a. There is no actual consensus about the contents of J, E, D, and P
b. There is no actual consensus about the dating of J, E, D, and P
c. Every scholar’s reconstructed “source” differs from every other
d. Hypothetical dates differ sometimes by 500 years or more.
2.9.8 Positive Signs of the Antiquity in the Pentateuch:
1. Cross-Cultural Parallels with ancient Egypt in Second Millennium B.C
2. Deuteronomy parallels Hittite treaties from second millennium B.C.(not
literature from the 6th cent. B.C.)
Ancient Hittite Treaties (2000-1000 B.C.) Book of Deuteronomy

1. Prelude: (“These are the words of X”) 1. Prelude (Deut 1:1-5)

2. Historical Prologue (history of relations)
3. Obligations of the Vassal toward Suzerain
4. Provision for Deposit and Public Reading
5. List of Divine Witnesses to Treaty
2. Historical Prologue (Duet 1-4)
3. Obligations (Deut 4-26)
4. Deposit/Public Reading (Deut 27, 31)
5. Witnesses for Renewal (Deut 29-34)
6. Curses and Blessings (Deut 27-28)

6. Curses and Blessings (obedience or failure)

3. Different ‘Names’ for God: can be explained by their different meanings.

a. “God” (elohim) is not a name but a common noun; used in
universal contexts
b. YHWH is a personal name used in covenantal contexts
c. Gen 1 emphasizes God’s universal sovereignty over creation
d. Gen 2 emphasizes God’s covenantal relationship with Adam.
4. Differences in language and style are not necessarily signs of independent
sources.
a. Differences of subject matter
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b. Alterations of vocabulary for literary, theological, customary

reasons
5. Apparent Contradictions can be reconciled through close analysis.
6. Repetitions and doublets are not necessarily signs of independent sources.
a) Ancient parallels use doublets as literary artistry
b) Arguments from composite structure are often illogical and “self
contradictory.
The Apparent Contradictions in the order of creation
Genesis 1 Genesis 2
1. Plants 1. Man
2. Animals 2. Plants
3. Man and Woman 3. Animals
4. Woman
Could 2:4-5 be a continuation of rather than a break in the creation
story, “a close-up after the panorama of Genesis 1,” or even simply an
extended commentary on the sixth day of creation? The order of events in
chapter 1 is chronological; the order of events in chapter 2 is logical and
topical, from humankind to the environment. Most of the information in 2:4-
25 is an amplification of 1:26-29. Chapter 1 is concerned with the world,
while ch. 2 is concerned with a garden; one is cosmic, the other localized.
God’s relationship to the world is in his capacity as Elohim, while he
relationship to a couple in a garden is in his capacity as Yahweh Elohim; the
first suggests his majesty and transcendence, the second his intimacy and
involvement with his creation. Exactly why we must not posit a unity in
Genesis 1-2.

3 The Book of Genesis

3.0 Introduction
The Book of Genesis is the first among the books classified as Pentateuch. It
isalso generally regarded as a prologue to the whole Bible. The English title of the
book ‘Genesis’ and its root in the Greek word means, “beginning”. This titlecame into
the English translation through the Septuagint (the Greek translation ofthe Old
Testament). Genesis is a book of “beginnings”. In the book we have thestory of the
beginning of the world, the beginning of family, marriage, humangovernment, sin and
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the ancestors of Israel among others.

3.1 Literary Types in Genesis
Although the Bible is divinely inspired book weshould not forget the fact that
the writers of the Bible were humans, who lived in aliterary context. That is, they do
not produce literary works that are totally new,unrelated to anything that has been
done of the things that were in vogue whenthey were writing.The basic literary style
of the Genesis is narration. In thisnarration, we encounter different genres of literature
too. In view of thissome of them would be examined below:
a) Myth
Today when people hear the term “myth”, what comes to their mind, is fiction
andsomething else. If we are to understand the myths in the book of Genesis we
mustset aside this notion. A myth is not fiction or stories that are unreal. Myths
arestories about actions of divine beings. A good example is found in Gen. 6:1-
4,where references were made to the “Sons of God” and the “Daughters of men”.One
of the functions of myth is to answer complex or hard questions about life
andexistence.
b) Legend
The difference between myth and legend is found in the fact that legends relate
more of human activities (often with divine involvement). Legend is a historical
account that cannot be verified. Legends at times involve one or manycharacters.
Legends served different functions such as explaining why things arehow they are. A
good example of a legend in the book of Genesis is the story ofTower of Babel in
Gen. 11. The objective of this legend is to explain the reasonsfor diversities in the
human language (see also Gen. 10:8-12).
c) Report
A report is a brief self-contained narration, usually in third-person style, about
asingle event or situation in the past. It narrates what happened, presenting the factsin
a style without literary embellishment. Occasionally, report serves an
etiologicalpurpose that is they explain how a certain place acquired its name (for
exampleGen. 35:8).
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d) Comedy
To a modern reader, the term “comedy” brings to mind the images of
comictelevision shows. In literature, however, a comedy is a narrative whose plot has
ahappy ending, in some cases through a dramatic reversal. It often aims to
amuse.Typically, the following features play prominent roles in comedies:
disguises,mistaken identity, providential coincidences, surprising turns-of-events,
escapesfrom disaster and the conquest of obstacles. A good example of comedy in
thebook of Genesis is the story of Joseph (Gen. 37 – 50).
e) Farewell Speech
The farewell speech is an address in the first-person voice reportedly given
bysomeone shortly before his or her death. In it, the speaker refers to his or her oldage
or imminent death and exhorts the hearers to live along certain liens in thefuture. The
speakers are usually leaders of such great importance that theirspeeches tend to mark
momentous turning point in Israel’s national life. A goodexample of farewell speech
in Genesis is that of Jacob in Genesis 49; where hepurportedly issued out his future
wishes for his children.
3.2 Ancient Near Eastern Literature Similar to Genesis
The literature of Israel cannot be understood inisolation of the wider ancient
Near Eastern environment. In view of this, we should know that there are literatures
in the ancient Near East that bore somestriking resemblance with the book of Genesis.
Popular among the other texts inancient Near East that resembles Genesis is the
famous Babylonian Genesis. Thisbook is often linked with the Genesis account of
creation. It was written late in the2nd millennium BC to honor Marduk, god of
Babylon.
Another text that furtherbears comparison with Genesis is one Babylonian
poem, the Atrakhasis Epic. Thisbook is concerned with the development of man and
the beginning of society andhints at the order of the world without describing its
creation. It starts with theminor gods working to irrigate the land, then rebelling at
their lot, from which theyare relieved by the creation of man who is to do the work
instead.
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In spite of the similarities of other literature in ancient Near East with Genesis,
it must be emphasized here that there is a world of difference between them. For
example in the Genesis the view of history is linear. That is history is something that
is moving towards a purposeful goal. And Yahweh is actively involved in the creation
and sustenance of the universe. However, in the ancient Near Eastern literature, the
view of history is cyclical and mythical in character
3.3 Genesis 1-11: Myth or Historical Reality
Some scholars because of the nature of stories in Genesis 1 – 11 have come to
theconclusion that those sections should not be regarded as historical. This is
becausethey said that their historicity have not been validated by archaeology or
science. For example, where is the location of the Garden of Eden? Was Adam a
black orwhite man? Or where is the relic of the tower of Babel? What further
establishesthe unhistorical nature of the materials in Genesis 1 – 11 is that they said
parallels to the text are known in the mythological literature of the ancient Near
East.Which ever way viewed the historical value of Genesis 1 – 11 cannot be out
rightly dismissed. The stories recorded in the section of the book in one way or the
other reflected historical memories of the early stage of human development. Since
those stories first circulated orally, they must have been overstated andexpanded.
Nevertheless, at the time they were converted to writing, the still maintain elements of
history. Besides, in the other parts of the Bible, the inspired writers as historical
unquestionablyinterpret the materials in thesechapters.
3.4 The Literary Structure of the book of Genesis.
The book of Genesis describes its own structure by means of TOLEDOT
(Generations).
1 TOLEDOT of the heaven and earth 2, 4 which follows the description of their
creation in 1,1-2,3. Beginning of heaven and earth (preparation for humanity)
2 TOLEDOT of the Adam (5,1) Humanity
3 TOLEDOT of Noah (6,9) Destruction and new Creation
4 TOLEDOT of the sons of Noah (10,1) Dispersion of humanity
5 TOLEDOT of Shem 11,10 Main line Established
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6 TOLEDOT of Terah 11,27 Patriarchal line

7 TOLEDOT of Ishmael (25, 12) Nations
8 TOLEDOT of Issac (25,19) Patriarchal line
9 TOLEDOT of Esau (36,1) Nations
10 TOLEDOT of Jacob (37,2) Israel (12 tribes).
3.5 The Interpretation of the Hexaemeron(Six days)
The creation narration is interpreted in different ways.
3.5 1. The Literal-Historical Interpretation
I. God created the world successively in six natural days (24 hour periods)
1. Proponents of the literal-historical interpretation:
a. Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian
b. St. Ambrose
c. St. Jerome
d. St. John Chrysostom
e. Pope St. Gregory the Great
f. “The majority of ancient interpreters.”
g. St. Thomas Aquinas (in his later Summa Theologica, Pt. I, Q. 74, Art. 2)
h. Victor Warkulwiz, M.S.S (priest physicist).
2. Arguments for the literal-historical interpretation:
a. Primacy of the literal sense in interpretation
b. Yom clearly means “day” in Gen 1:14-16
c. “And there was evening, and there was morning” = ordinary ‘day’
d. The Ten Commandments: interpret Gen 1 literally (Exod 20:11; 31:17)
3. Arguments against the literal-historical interpretation:
a. The six days cannot be literal, since the sun is not created until Day 4.
b. The “work” and “rest” of God is undeniably symbolic, not literal
c. Scientific arguments: geological uniformitarianism, evolution, and distant starlight
II. The Day-Age Interpretation
1. God created the world over many “ages,” symbolized by the “days” of Genesis
2. Proponents of day-age interpretation: modern view; Ruffini leans this way
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3. Arguments for the Day-Age Interpretation:

a. Hebrew word “day” (yom) sometimes means an indefinite period
b. Days 1-3 cannot be literal, since the sun is not created until Day 4
c. The succession of biblical “days” corresponds to the geological periods
4. Arguments against the Day-Age Interpretation:
a. See arguments for the literal-historical interpretation above
b. “The unanimous interpretation of the fathers” is for ordinary days, not periods
c. Scientific arguments: doubt about geological periods corresponding to Genesis
III. The Symbolic Interpretation
1. The six days are a purely symbolic; does not correspond to how the world was
created
2. Proponents of symbolic interpretation(s): (not all identical)
a. Philo of Alexandria, the Jewish philosopher
b. Origen and St. Clement of Alexandria
c. St. Augustine, followed by St. Thomas Aquinas
d. Most modern Catholic theologians: Baglow, Schoenborn, Ratzinger, Ruffini
3. Arguments for the Symbolic Interpretation
a. The “work” and “rest” of God is undeniably symbolic
b. Days 1-3 take place before the creation of the sun on Day 4
c. The object of the biblical author is purely religious, not ‘scientific’
(“The Bible tells us how to go to heaven, not how the heavens go.”)
4. Arguments against the Symbolic Interpretation
a. See arguments for the literal-historical interpretation
b. Sabbath rest (and punishment) rests on God’s example in creating
c. Literary genre: the rest of Genesis is history; so is Genesis 1
d. False dichotomy: why can’t Gen 1 be historical and theological?
IV. The Mythological Interpretation
1. The six days are a “mythical cosmogony,” deriving from pagan myths of origins
2. Proponents of this interpretation:
a. Alfred Loisy (“father of the heresy of Modernism”)
b. John Collinsand most modern historical-critics
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3. Arguments for the Mythological Interpretation:

a. Parallels between Genesis and Babylonian myths show pagan origin of Gen
b. Late-dating of Genesis (5th cent. B.C.); early dating of pagan myths
4. Arguments against the Mythological Interpretation:
a. Similarities between Genesis and pagan myths outweighed by differences
b. Genesis not rooted in myth; pagan myths rooted in “primitive tradition”

3. 6 Church’s Teaching on the Creation of the World.

The Catechism on Catechesis on Creation
1. The beginning of Scripture and an article of faith (CCC 279)
a. “Creator of Heaven and Earth” (Apostles’ Creed)
b. “Of all that is, seen and unseen” (Nicene Creed)
2. The “foundation of all God’s saving plans” (280)
3. “Catechesis on creation is of major importance” (282)
a. Where do we come from?
b. Where are we going?
c. What is origin?
d. What is our end?
4. The “truth about creation is so important for all of human life” (287)
a. Natural knowledge of the creator
b. Revelation of “the mystery of creation”
5. Creation is “inseparable” for the “forging of the covenant” (288)
6. “The First three chapters of Genesis”: a unique place (289)
a. May have had divers sources
b. Teach “the truths of creation”
c. “The principal source for catechesis on the mysteries of the ‘beginning’”
d. Must be read in the light of Christ, the Bible, and the living Church Tradition
3.6.1 Fundamental Catholic Doctrines on Creation
1. Creation is a work of the holy Trinity (CCC 290-92)
2. The World was created for the glory of God (293)
3. God created the world from his free will and divine love (295)
4. God created the world ex nihilo (“out of nothing”) (296-99)
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5. God created an ordered and good world (299)

6. God transcends creation and is present to it (300)
7. God upholds and sustains creation at every moment (301)
8. God’s providence guides creation towards its perfection (302-305)
9. God gives his creatures free will to share in his providence (306-308)
10. If Creation is good, why does evil exist? (309)
a. Reality of physical evil (310)
b. Reality of moral evil (311)
c. God can bring good out of an evil (312-314)
The Catechism on Genesis
1. Prologue:
a. Meaning of “Heaven and Earth” (CCC 325-327)
b. Fourth Lateran Council (1215): profession of faith in God’s creation (327)
2. The Creation of the Angels:
a. Existence of the angels a “truth of faith” (de fide) (328)
b. Dwell in “heaven” place of the spiritual creatures, the “angelic world” (331)
c. Created at the beginning of time and active in salvation history (332)
d. Every human being has a guardian angel (336)
3. God created the visible world in its richness, diversity, and order (337)
a. “Symbolic succession” of six days of divine “work” and “rest” (Gen 1:1-2:4)
b. Scripture teaches truths revealed by God for our salvation
c. The inner nature, value, and ordering of creation to the praise of God
4. God created all things that exist; nothing comes into being without him (338)
5. God gave creature its own particular goodness and perfection (339)
a. “And God saw that it was good” (Gen 1:4, 10, 18, 21, 25)
b. “And God saw that it was very good” (Gen 1:31)
6. God made all creatures interdependent on one another (340)
7. God created a beautiful world: it reflects the “infinite beauty of the Creator” (341)
8. God ordained a hierarchy of creatures: some are “less perfect/more perfect” (342)
a. The “six days” signify the hierarchy of creation
b. God “loves all his creatures,” but they are not all of equal value
 17

d. Jesus: “You are of more value than many sparrows” (Luke 12:6-7)
9. God made Man the summit of creation: he alone in God’s “image and likeness”
(343)
10. God ordained solidarity among all creatures: all are ordered to God (344)
11. Creation climaxes in the Sabbath (the ‘seventh’ day) (345)
a. Creation has ‘laws’ of nature built into it
b. Creation was made “with a view to the Sabbath”
c. “Worship is inscribed into the order of creation”
12. The eighth day: begins “the new creation” (349)
a. Old Creation  New Creation
b. Order of Creation  Order of Redemption
c. New Creation “surpasses” that of the first creation.
3.6.2 Pope Pius XIIon Evolution and Genesis 1-11Encyclical, Humani
Generis (1950)
Caution with regard to the Positive Sciences
35 It remains for us now to speak about those questions which, although they pertain
tothe positive sciences, are nevertheless more or less connected with the truths of
theChristian faith. In fact, not a few now insistently demand that the Catholic religion
takethese sciences into account as much as possible. This certainly would be
praiseworthy inthe case of clearly proved facts; but caution must be used when there is
rather a questionof hypotheses, having some sort of scientific foundation, in which the
doctrine containedin Sacred Scripture or Tradition is involved. If such conjectural
opinions are directly orindirectly opposed to the doctrine revealed by God, then the
demand that they berecognized can in no way be admitted.
Discussion of Evolution Permitted with Provisos
36 For these reasons the teaching authority of the Church does not forbid that,
inconformity with the present state of human sciences and sacred theology, research
anddiscussions, on the part of people experienced in both fields, take place with regard to
thedoctrine of evolution, in as far as it inquires into the origin of the human body as
comingfrom pre-existent and living matter—for the Catholic faith obliges us to hold that
soulsare immediately created by God. However, this must be done in such a way that
 18

thereasons for both opinions, that is, those favorable and those unfavorable to evolution,
beweighed and judged with the necessary seriousness, moderation, and measure;
andprovided that all are prepared to submit to the judgment of the Church, to whom
Christhas given the mission of interpreting authentically the Sacred Scriptures and of
defendingthe dogmas of the faithful. Some however rashly transgress this liberty of
discussion,when they act as if the origin of the human body from pre-existing and living
matter werealready completely certain and proved by the fact which have been
discovered up to nowand by reasoning on those facts, and as if there were nothing in the
sources of divinerevelation which demands the greatest moderation and caution in this
question.

Polygenism Forbidden
37 When, however, there is question of another conjectural opinion, namely
polygenism,the children of the Church by no means enjoy such liberty. For the faithful
cannotembrace that opinion which maintains that either after Adam there existed on this
earthtrue men who did not take their origin through natural generation from him as from
thefirst parent of all, or that Adam represents a certain number of first parents. Now it is
noway apparent how such an opinion can be reconciled with that which the sources
ofrevealed truth and the documents of the Magisterium of the Church propose with
regardto original sin, which proceeds from a sin actually committed by an individual
Adam andwhich, through generation, is passed on to all and is in everyone as his own.
Errors Regarding the Historicity of Genesis 1-11
38 Just as in the biological and anthropological sciences, so also in the historical
sciencesthere are those who boldly transgress the limits and safeguards established by the
Church.
In a particular way must be deplored a certain too free interpretation of the
historicalbooks of the Old Testament. Those who favor this system, in order to defend
their cause,wrongly refer to the Letter, which was sent not long ago to the Archbishop of
Paris by thePontifical Commission on Biblical Studies.This letter, in fact, clearly points
out thatthe first eleven chapters of Genesis, although properly speaking not conforming
to thehistorical method used by the best Greek and Latin writers or by competent authors
 19

ofour time, do nevertheless pertain to history in a true sense, which however must
befurther studied and determined by exegetes; the same chapters, (the Letter points out),
insimple and metaphorical language adapted to the mentality of a people but little
cultured,both state the principal truths which are fundamental for our salvation, and also
give apopular description of the origin of the human race and the chosen people. If,
however,the ancient sacred writers have taken anything from popular narrations (and
this may beconceded), it must never be forgotten that they did so with the help of divine
inspiration,through which they were rendered immune from any error in selecting and
evaluatingthose documents.
Scripture not on par with “Myths”
39 Therefore, whatever of the popular narrations have been inserted into the Sacred
Scriptures must in no way be considered on a par with myths or other such things,
whichare more the product of an extravagant imagination than of that striving for truth
andsimplicity which in the Sacred Books, also of the Old Testament, is so apparent that
ourancient sacred writers must be admitted to be clearly superior to the ancient
profanewriters.
Encyclical Letter On Some False Teachings WhichThreaten To Undermine Catholic
Doctrine,Humani Generis (1950),Pope Pius XII,
3.6.3 Pope John Paul IIThe Scientific Theory of Evolution, “More Than
a Hypothesis” (1996).
Taking into account the state of scientific research at the time as well as of
therequirements of theology, the encyclical Humani Generis considered the doctrine of
“evolutionism” a serious hypothesis, worthy of investigation and in-depth study equal
tothat of the opposing hypotheses. Pius XII added two methodological conditions: that
hitsopinion should not be adopted as though it were certain, proven doctrine and as
thoughone could totally prescient from revelation with regard to the questions it raises.
He alsospelled out the condition on which this opinion would be compatible to the
Christianfaith, a point to which I will return. Today, nearly half a century after the
publication ofthe encyclical, new knowledge leads to the recognition of the theory of
evolution as morethan a hypothesis. It is indeed remarkable that this theory has been
progressivelyaccepted by researchers following a series of discoveries in various fields of
 20

knowledge.
The convergence, neither sought nor provoked, of the results of work that was
conductedindependently is in itself a significant argument in favor of this theory.
3.6.4 Pope Benedict XVI“The Theory Evolution is Not a Complete,
Scientifically Verified Theory” (2007)
In particular, to me it is important, first of all, that to a great extent the theory
ofevolution cannot be proved experimentally, quite simply because we cannot bring
10,000generations into the laboratory. That means that there are considerable gaps in
itsexperimental verifiability and falsifiability due to the enormous span of time to which
thetheory has reference. A second thing that was important to me was your statement
thatthe probability is not zero, but not one, either. And so the question arises: How high is
theprobability now? This is especially important if we want to interpret correctly the
remarkmade by Pope John Paul II: “The theory of evolution is more than a hypothesis.”
Whenthe Pope said that, he had his reasons. But at the same time it is true that the theory
ofevolution is still not a complete, scientifically verified theory.
3.7 Theology of Creation
(1) The entire universe owes its existence to God as creator and Lord. (2) Each
and every part of creation is good in the eyes of God. (3) God established a hierarchy
among created things, as seen in the ascending movement of the account, from inanimate
things to animate creatures to the human race as the crown of the material world. (4)
Creation shows forth the power of God, who speaks the universe into existence, the
wisdom of God, who arranges all things into a symphony of natural beauty and harmony,
and the goodness of God, who bestows life and blessing gratuitously. (5) The creation
story exhibits an apologetic interest in countering the mythological world views of the
ancient Near East. According to the pagan myths, a pantheon of deities existed in the
beginning; the gods were embodied in nature and had humanlike needs and
imperfections; the world was born out of a struggle between the gods; and man was
created only to be exploited by the gods. In contrast, Genesis teaches that only one God
exists, that he stands, outside of time, that he is altogether distinct from the natural world,
and that he blessed mankind, making man the bearer of his image. In addition to these
considerations, the seven-day structure of the account is best viewed as a literary device
 21

for communicating the following points. (6) Six days of work followed by one day of rest
underscores the obligation of man to lay aside his labor and honor the Creator every
seventh day(Ex 20:8-11). (7) The founding of the world in seven days parallels the
building of the Tabernacle according to seven commands (Ex 40:16-33) and the
dedication of the Temple in seven days (1 kings 8:65) after seven years of
construction (1 kings 6:38). Also, the description of God resting on the seventh day (2:2-
3) has links with ancient concepts of a temple, which is considered a place of divine rest
(2Chron 6:41; Ps 132:14; Sir 24:11 ; Is 66:1) . The creation week in Genesis thus
reflects the belief that the world is a cosmic sanctuary. (8) Seven days of divine speech
hint that God established a covenant with creation. Not only does the Hebrew for
“seven” share a common root with the verb for “swearing a covenant oath” (see 21:27-
32), but in later Jewish tradition, God is said to have founded the world through his oath
(1 Enoch 69, 15-27).

Genesis begins with a prologue (Gen 1:1- 2:4a) that provides an

overview of Creation in a six day division, climaxing in God's
pronouncement of the completion of the Creation event on "the seventh
day." It is through God's divine will and His pronouncement ("God said")
that the universe and our planet came into being. It is His presence, His will,
and His divine purpose that continues to sustain the cosmos and the world in
which we live.
Genesis 1:1- 2:4a: The narration of the Creation of "Heaven and
Earth." As you read the text, please note the word repetitions. An inclusion
for the section with the verb BERA, 1,1 &2,3.Genesis 1:1-5: The First
“Day.” (The significant Hebrew words that we will be discussing are in
brackets; “formless-void” is underlined to indicate the Hebrew word in
brackets means “formless and empty”).
3.8Genesis 1:1- 2:4a: The of the Creation of “Heaven and Earth.”As you
read the text, please note the word repetitions. For example, “God said” is
repeated eleven times in 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, and 29.
"In [the] beginning" [be re'siyth] When is it? In the moment when
God started to create heaven and earth.
 22

The definite article "the" is not present in the Hebrew text, nor is it
present in the LXX. The Hebrew word is [be re'siyth], pronounced which
means "in beginning" or "in first." The Hebrew prefix "b" [be] can be
translated as "in," "for," "through," or "with;" while the Hebrew word
"re'shiyt," from the Hebrew root rosh [as in Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish feast
which means "head (start) of the year"], is defined as "the first in place, time,
order or rank.
Re'shiyt was also the title of the firstborn son in a Hebrew family.
The "firstborn was the "first fruits" of the womb. A "firstborn" son was
"first" in the sense of birth order, but he was also "first" in the sense of
power and rank because as the designated heir he carried the power and
authority of the father of the family. As the re'shiyt, the designated heir, he
was destined to receive a double measure of the father's material and
spiritual blessings (Gen 27:27-37).
Before the creation was there anything?
God, when started to created so God was there.
Spirit. Word.
As the only begotten "firstborn" Son of God the Father, Jesus merited
the Father's power and authority (Jn 1:14; Mt 28:18; Jn 17:2).
What is Jesus' connection to Creation "in [the] beginning?"
St. Peter professed Jesus' selection as the means for man's salvation
before the Creation event when he wrote: He was marked out [chosen]
before the world was made... (1 Pt 1:20).
Can you think of other New Testament verses that point to the pre-
existence of Jesus Christ before the beginning of Creation and other verses
that identify Jesus as the "first in power and rank," the first fruits, the
"re'shiyt" of all Creation?
Two significant passages are Colossians 1:15-20 and the prologue of
St. John's Gospel (Jn 1:1-18). These passages address the pre-existence of
Christ and His pre-eminence in the Creation event.
In Colossians, St. Paul presents Jesus as the active power behind
creation through which all things came into existence. In St. John's Gospel,
Jesus is the Word of God spoken to bring the universe into existence.
The connection to the opening words of the Creation prologue in
Genesis are found in Paul's choice of words identified in the bold type in the
 23

passage above: note that the Hebrew word "be" means: "through, for, with,
or in"; and "re'shiyt" means "first-born" or "first fruits" as "first in rank" and
"beginning."
St. John spoke of Jesus' pre-existence in John 1:1-2: In (the*)
beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning. St. John also spoke of Jesus' pre-
existence in verse 15: John witnesses to him. He proclaims: 'This is the one
of whom I said: He who comes after me has passed ahead of me because he
existed before me (repeated in John 1:30). St. John identified Jesus as the
force behind Creation in John 1:3-5: Through him all things came into being,
not one thing came into being except through him. What has come into
being in him was life, life that was the light of men; and light shines in
darkness, and darkness could not overpower it. [..]. He was in the world that
had come into being through him... In this passage St. John repeats the
themes of Genesis 1:1-5. (The*) indicates that this word is not in the Greek
text.
There are other passages that can be cited which point to the pre-
existence of Jesus including Hebrews 1:2-3; 11:3; John 1:15, 30; 8:58; and
17:5; 1 John 1:1.
The New Testament, therefore, reveals that God authored Creation
through the creative force of the eternal Word, God the Son (Jn 1:1-3),
through whom all creation flowed: ...for in Him were created all things in
heaven and on earth: everything visible and everything invisible, ..[...] all
things were created through him and for him. He exists before all things and
in him all things hold together. See CCC# 291.(2)
In the first sentence of the Prologue of the Gospel of St. John, the
Greek text begins with the same words that in Hebrew begin the Prologue of
Genesis 1:1: "In (the) beginning." Like the Hebrew text in Genesis, the first
words of St. John's Prologue begin without the definite article "the:" in
Greek, en arche, "In beginning"'the same Greek words that begin the
Genesis Prologue in the Greek, also without the article "the." In the 3rd
century AD, Origen of Alexandria, revered head of the Christian school of
theology in Alexandria, Egypt, wrote: What is the beginning of all things
except our Lord and "Savior of all," Jesus Christ "the firstborn of every
creature?"
 24

In this beginning, therefore, that is, in his Word, "God made heaven
and earth" as the evangelist John also says in the beginning of his Gospel
(Origen: Homilies on Genesis, 1:1). Origen is using the word "firstborn" in
the sense of "first in rank." He is not saying that Jesus was the first creature
that was created, a heresy embraced by some who misinterpret what St. Paul
wrote in Colossians 1:15.
The Gospel of St. John identifies Jesus in verse 1 as "The Word."
Question: What other word does the Gospel of St. John associate with Jesus
in addition to Jesus the "Word" and the "Life?" Please see verses 4-5 and 9.
Answer: Jesus is the "Light."
Jesus will identify Himself as "the Light" on the Feast of Tabernacles
during the last year of His ministry: Jesus spoke to the people again, he said:
I am the light of the world; anyone who follows me will not be walking in
the dark but will have the light of life (Jn 8:12).
Creation is the foundation of God's plan of salvation. It is the
beginning of salvation history that will reach its fulfillment in the saving
work of Jesus Christ (see CCC# 280). Keeping in mind Jesus' role in the
Creation event, please re-read
The Fathers of the Church (the disciples of the Apostles and their
disciples in the first 3-4 centuries of the Church) taught that although the
mystery of the Trinity was hidden from us in the Old Testament, the promise
of that mystery was revealed in Scripture from the very first account of
Creation.
Recalling St. John, St. Paul, and St. Peter's revelation of the pre-existence of
Christ and His role in Creation, can you see the hidden promise of the
Trinity in the first three verses of Genesis?
Please identify the key words in the passage (see Jn 1:1-5; Col 1:15-
17; and 1 Pt 1:20).Answer: In the beginning God [Elohim] created heaven
and earth. Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the
deep, with a divine wind [ruah] sweeping [more literally =hovering] over the
waters. God [Elohim] said, 'Let there be light, and there was light.'
God in the plural (Elohim): God the Father
Spirit of God (ruah): God the Holy Spirit
God said: the creative force of God's spoken word; the Word of God = God
the Son.
 25

God's Word is the "Light" = Christ according to John 1:3-5 and 9: [verses 3-
5]...in Him was life, life that was the light of men; and light shines in the
darkness, and darkness could not overpower it. Verse 9: The Word was the
real light that gives light to everyone...
The Church teaches that the Creation event was the unified work of
the Most Holy Trinity: The Old Testament suggests and the New Covenant
reveals the creative action of the Son and the Spirit, inseparably one with
that of the Father. This creative cooperation is clearly affirmed in the
Church's rule of faith: "There exists but one God... he is the Father, God, the
Creator, the author, the giver of order. He made all things by himself, this
is, by his Word and by his Wisdom," "by the Son and the Spirit" who, so to
speak, are "his hands." Creation is the common work of the Holy Trinity
(CCC# 292).
Genesis 1:3 reveals that God's Spirit was sweeping over the waters.
In commenting on this passage in Genesis, St. Ephrem (303-363/73) wrote:
It was appropriate to reveal here that the Spirit swept in order for us to learn
that the work of creation was held in common by the Spirit with the Father
and the Son. The Father spoke. The Son created. And so it was also right
that the Spirit offered its work, clearly shown through its hovering, in order
to demonstrate its unity with the other persons. Thus we learn that all was
brought to perfection and accomplished by the Trinity (Ephrem,
Commentary on Genesis I).
Jewish Bible scholars, both ancient and modern, have seen a
connection between the limited use of this Hebrew word in the birth of
Creation as we know it and in the birth of the nation of Israel. In
Deuteronomy 32:11 the verb rahap is used to express Yahweh's divine
activity in leading the newly created nation of Israel, separated out from the
chaos of the pagan world, through "the howling expanses of the wastelands"
(Dt 32:10) on way to Canaan.
Bera(created) this verb always has God as the subject. Used to indicate
making something from nothing. 2Macc 7,28. Heaven and Earth The word
heaven and earth are very common in the bible. Only once there is the term
for the universe Jer: 10, 16. 51,19. The term heavens and earth stands for the
totality of the creation, which includes all that seen and unseen material and
spiritual (Neh 9,6) Col 1,16).
 26

Tohu wa bohu (formless and void).

Verse 2 of the Creation event, presents the earth as already having been
formed and completely covered by water. It is possible that there were other
periods of creation and de-creation on earth between verses 1 and 2. Our
Creation event begins with God's spirit hovering over the waters of chaos.
The deepThe Cosmic Ocean that forms the seas (Ps 33,7) In Semetic
Cosmology it was thought that the deep lie beneath the earth (Ex 20). It is
said to engulf the earth Ps (104,6) and the dry land emerges from the depths.
Verse three begins a repeated sequence of God's announcement: "God said,"
followed by God's command: "Let the/ there," which results in a creation
event.
Light On the first day God created "light." How can there be light in the
cosmos before the creation of the sun, moon, and stars, which doesn't occur
until Genesis 1:14? Galileo Galilei wrote: The Bible tells us how to go the
Heaven, not how the heavens go. The Bible is not a scientific text book.
What the inspired writers received was what they would be able to put into
words that could be understood by their contemporaries and future
generations.
The passage tells us that after the earth was created, God created light
as a force or a concept in the universe. St. Augustine made the distinction
between the light born from God and the light made by God: The light born
from God is one thing; the light that God made is another. The light born
from God is the very Word of God, the word itself was the light. but the
light made by God is something mutable, whether corporeal or incorporeal
(On the Literal Interpretation of Genesis, 5.20). God created "light,"
separating the light out of the darkness of the cosmos and pronounced it was
"good" (Gen 1:4), as He will continue to judge each act of creation as
"good."
Since the sun and the moon had not been fixed in the heavens, the day
and night referred to in verse five cannot be day and night as we known
them. It is interesting to note that the Hebrew text of Genesis 1:5 does not
have the definite article "the" as it does in the English translation. It will not
be until day six that "day" will be defined as "the sixth day.
Evening came and morning came: the first day. It was from the repetition
of this phrase indicating that the "day" progressed from the night that the
 27

Hebrew people began and ended each day at sunset, in ancient times and a
practice Jews continue to observe today.
3.9 The Unique Creation of Man as Opposed to the Other Creatures
In the creation of man in Genesis 1:26-30, the announcement “God said” is not
followed by the impersonal (third person) command “Let the/there be” as with the
creation of the other creatures. The announcement “God said” is instead followed by the
intimate (first person) command: “Let us make” (Gen 1:26). The creation of other beings
on the previous days was defined as being created “according to its own species.” But in
the creation of man and woman, they are described as being made “according to the
image and likeness of God,” repeated twice in Genesis 1:27.The gender of God’s animal
creation is not mentioned, but in the creation of humans their gender is identified: male
and female he created them (Gen 12:27c). As male and female, created in the image and
likeness of God, man and woman are equal partners.As equal partners, man and woman
are given dominion over the land and all its creatures (Gen 1: 28-30). Created in God’s
image, they are God’s representative—the stewards of God’s created world.
3.9.1 Dignity of Adam (Human)
Created in Image and likeness (Tselem and demut).The term Tselem denotes the
Physical “representation” of something. (Ezek 23,14) and the second term (demut) refers
to a “Pattern”. (2king 16,10) or visible “resemblance” of Something. The Same word is
used in Gen. 5,3 where Adam get a son, the father produces a son in his image and
likeness. Adam is the son of God. (Lk 3,38. The divine Image includes Man’s Rational
intelligence, his dignity as a person, his moral awareness and his unique capacity for a
personal relationship with God. (CCC 343, 355-358).
God placed Adam in the Garden to till and to keep the literal meaning of the
Hebrew words are to Serve and to Guard (Oved and Shomer). The same two words
together again find in Numbers 3,7-8 where these two verbs together describe what the
priests do in the worship place. Adam has a priestly role in original Temple.Gen 1,26 and
28 gives to Adam “dominion” overall Creatures on earth. This is the kingly role. Adam
was the king of all the Living Creatures.
Gen 2,18 -20 God Gives Adam the Job of Naming the Animals. Only the creator
of something could give the name. It is God could give the names. But Adam is deputed
 28

God work he gives the name to the animal and Eve. Thus Adam speaks on behalf of
God. This indicates the prophetic function of Adam.
Adam is the Bridegroom who made a covenant with Eve. The wording “Bone of
my bone and flesh of my flesh, she shall be called woman” is a marital covenant.
3.9.2 First and Second Adam
In Romans 5:14b-19 St. Paul contrasted Adam and Messiah as “alike” but “unalike,”
identifying Jesus as a “second” Adam and Adam as a “type” of the promised Redeemer
who was to come: He [Adam] prefigured the One who was to come
Adam and Messiah ALIKEAdamand Messiah UNALIKE
Both Adam and Christ had an affect Sin and death came from Adam while
upon the whole human race. Both righteousness and life came from
endured the temptation of Satan Christ.
Adam failed and Christ was victorious.
Through both Adam and Christ
humanity received an “inheritance.” Through Adam’s failure humanity
inherited death, original sin and
personal sin became a plague on
mankind. Through Christ’s victory
humanity inherited adoption into God
Both were human men. family and the promise of eternal life.
Both the acts of Adam and Jesus Messiah was both human and divine.
invoked a divine verdict. Satan stood behind the act of Adam
while the grace of God stood behind
Messiah; the verdict behind Adam’s act
was judgment while the verdict behind
Both Adam and Jesus exercised their Jesus’ was acquittal.
free will. Adam willingly fell from grace and
Jesus willingly laid down His life in
Both were born into the world as sacrifice for all mankind.
sinless and immortal beings. Adam lost his immortality when he fell
from grace while Jesus remained pure
 29

and sinless. Through His sacrifice and

Resurrection Jesus has made God’s gift
of immortality and eternal fellowship
Covenants were formed with both once again available to man.
Adam and Christ. The Tree of Life was Adam broke his covenant (Hosea 6:7),
a sign of each covenant (Gen 2:9; 3:22; but the covenant in Christ became the
Rev 2:7; 22:2, 14). New and everlasting covenant of the
universal Church (Jer 31:31; Lk 22:20;
1 Cor 11:15). The altar of the Cross
became the true “Tree of Life,” which
Adam’s tree only prefigured: Let
anyone who can hear, listen to what the
Spirit is saying to the churches: those
who prove victorious I will feed from
the tree of life set in God’s paradise
(Rev 2:7).

3.9 the fall of Man

The account of the fall affirms a primeval event using figurative language (CCC
390). It indicates that man, at the beginning of his history, rebelled against his Creator
and brought sin and misery into the world. As Genesis present it, the immediate effects of
man and women transgressing the original convent (2:16-17) includes shame (3:7), strife
(3:12) suffering (3:16-19), and separation from the Lord (3:23-24). Its lasting effects,
including death (3:9) and a disordered propensity toward evil (6:5), are passed down to
the entire human family (CCC 390, 400).See Rom 5:12 and 7:23.
Rom 5:12 through one man: Sin invaded the world through Adam, who allowed the
temptations of his wife and the devil to overpower his commitment to God (Gen 3: 1-7;
Wis 2:24). Death through sin: God warned Adam that death was the penalty for
disobedience (Gen 2:17). His willful defiance in the face of this threat brought about the
immediate death of his soul and the eventual death of his body (Gen 3:19). All men
 30

sinned: As the father of the human family, Adam turned away from God on our behalf.
His rebellion was thus a representative act that not only injured himself, but dragged the
entire family of man into suffering and separation from God (CCC 402-5). The council of
Trend appealed to Rom 5:12 when it defined the doctrine of Original Sin in 1546 (Sess.
5). The doctrine holds that all descendants of Adam are born into the world in a state of
spiritual death and in desperate need of salvation. The condition spreads, not by
imitation (making the same mistake as Adam), but by propagation (by virtue of our
genealogical link with Adam.
Rom 7:23 the law of sin: Traditionally called concupiscence, which is the inclination of
fallen man to misuse his free will in sinful and selfish ways. It manifests itself as an
unremitting desire for pleasure, power, and possessions. Even the baptized have to
wrestle with this inner force, although Paul insists that the spirit can give us victory over
its unmanageable urges (8:2, 13). So concupiscence remains in the believer, but it need
not rule us like a tyrant (6:12-14) (CCC 405, 1426, 2520).
The serpent: A personal agent of evil that Scripture later identifies as Satan (Rev 12:9).
The serpent has been commonly considered (1) a mythopoeic image that represents the
devil (or at least the diabolical) in a literary way, (2) the visible from assumed by the
devil in the garden, or (3) a real serpent whose body is possessed and manipulated by the
devil, much as demons are capable of speaking through bodily creatures and controlling
their actions (cf. Mk 5:1-13). Whatever the case, Satan was driven by envy to rob man
(Wis 2:24; CCC 391, 2539). Jesus thus refers to him as “a murderer from the beginning”
(Jn 8:44).
The Hebrew Word that the Hebrew termNAHASH often refers to a snake (49:17),
but in poetic and apocalyptic texts it can refer to a draconic sea serpent that represents
opposition to the Lord (Job 26:1 Is 27:1; Amos 9:3). In the ancient Near East, serpents
were symbolic of divinity and fertility as well as the threat of cosmic chaos.Cunning:
Satan uses half-truths to seduce and mislead: he claims that the couple will not die (3:4)
that their eyes will be opened (3:5) and that they will become like God (3:5). These
assurances all seem to come true at one level, since after eating the forbidden fruit, Adam
and Eve continue to live for many years (5:5), their eyes are opened (3:7), and they in
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some sense become like God(3:22). However, in the light of God’s intentions, these
promised gains turn out to be painful losses (CCC392, 2847).
Not eat of any tree….?: The question insinuates that God is an obstacle to human
fulfillment. In particular, it raises doubts about the Lord’s generosity and goodwill, as
though Adam and Eve were deprived of much more than God provided them. This is a
complete distortion of the divine allowance in 2:16 (CCC 215).
3:6 her husband: These words are followed in the Hebrew text by the phrase “with her”,
indicating that Adam was present when Eve committed the sin. and he ate: Unlike Eve,
who was deceived by the serpent after engaging him in dialogue (3:13; 1 Tim 2:14),
Adam bows without resistance to the wishes of his wife (3:17) and asserts himself
against the commandment given to him by the Lord (2:17). Tradition holds that Adam,
having surrendered his trust in God, committed a sin of pride in wanting to be “like God,
knowing good and evil” (3:5). His desire was not to discern the difference between good
and evil, but to determine what was good and evil for himself, independently of God (cf.
John Paul II, Dominum et Vivificantem 36) (CCC 397-98). In the theology of Paul, Christ
is the counter image of Adam. Just as Adam , by his transgression, made us sinners
subject to death, so Christ, by his obedience, secured the grace that makes us heirs of
eternal life (Rom 5: 12-21; Cor 15:20-22). Christ conquered the devil with the same
weapons the devil used against us: a virgin, a tree, and death. These tokens of our demise
have now become the tokens of our victory. Instead of Eve, there is Mary; instead of
Adam’s death, there is the death of Christ (St. John Chrysostom, On the Cemetery and
the Cross).
3:15 I will put enmity: A crucial verse in Genesis, which some think is an etiology that
explains the origin of man’s instinctive fear of snakes. More likely, the proverbial
antagonism between men and snakes was evoked for the purpose of symbolizing man’s
ongoing struggle against sin and evil, which is personified by the serpent (cf. 4:7; Sir
21:2). In any case, neither interpretation captures the full meaning of the text, which
foretells the eventual triumph of the woman and her offspring over Satan after a
protracted period of hostility. Your seed: The devil’s accomplices in doing evil,
including wicked men, who constitute his spiritual offspring (8:44). In Genesis, Cain and
his line of godless descendants are the first to fulfill this role(4:8, 17-24; 1 Jn 3:12). her
 32

seed: The righteous of the woman, initially linked with Abel(4:4) the godly line of Seth
(4:26; 5:6-32). He shall: The Hebrew could be read individually (“he shall”) or
collectively (“they shall”). The earliest known Jewish interpretation of this text takes the
offspring of the woman to be an individual man (Gk. Autos, “he" in the Greek LXX).
“Crush"( as in Job 9:17). Victory over the satanic deceiver is assured: the serpent will
sustain a fatal head injury, while the woman’s offspring will suffer only a biting on the
heel. At least one Jewish tradition(Palestinian Targum) connects this triumph with the
coming of a messianic king. Christian tradition gives this text a messianic interpretation
(Christ is the individual who tramples the devil underfoot: Heb 2:14; Jn 3:8; St.Irenaeus
Against Heresies 3, 23, 7), an ecclesiological interpretation (the church is the offspring
that shares in his victory: Rom 16:20; Rev 12:17), and a mariologicalinterpretation(Mary
is the promised woman who bears the Redeemer: Vatican II, Lumen Gentium 55). This
passage has long been called the “first gospel” (Lat. Protoevangelium) and stands out as
the first revelation of God’s mercy in Scripture (CCC 410-11).
3:16-19 Suffering is imposed as the temporal consequence of sin. Eve and her
descendants will suffer as wives (spousal domination) and mothers (painful childbirth).
Adam and his descendants will suffer as family providers (toilsome labor for food) (CCC
1609).
Nine hundred and thirty years: Adam’s age falls within the range of 777 (Lamech,
5:31) to 969 years (Methuselah, 5:27) that characterizes the era before the flood. There is
as yet no positive solution to the mystery of these enormous life-spans. Modern
anthropology holds that the human species (called homo sapiens) is around 40,000 years
old, that pre historic man lived a fairly short life, and that human longevity slowly
increased rather than decreased over the millennia. The Bible, however, as well as ancient
Near Eastern writings (e.g., Sumerian King List) concur in giving the ancients an
immensely long life, especially before the flood. Various approaches have been taken to
explain this phenomenon in Genesis. (1) Some take the ages at face value and maintain
the literal truth of the genealogies; however, this results in putting Adam less than 2000
years before Abraham and makes the human race only about 6000 years old. (2) Others
have proposed converting the “years” into “months”, but this creates a situation in which
some of the figures are children at the time they are said to bear children of their own.
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(3) Still others take the names of the Patriarchs to refer to “clans” rather than individuals,
yet this fails to explain why some of the names clearly concern individuals, such as
Adam, Cain, Enoch and Noah. (4) Perhaps the best hypothesis, and one that would help
to explain both the biblical and Near Eastern data, is that giving primeval figures
extremely long lives was a way of conceptualizing the great antiquity of mankind. In
other words, this may be simply a literary technique used to assert the remarkable age of
the human race itself.
3.10 the Patriarchal Narrations (12, 1 – 50, 26).
These are often classified as folk tales, legends, or epic sagas; some even consider
them the free creation of a later age. However, the stories of the Patriarchs are best
regarded as genuine family history. Not only do the main characters and events have a
solid claim to historicity, but a number of supporting details have been verified by
modern research as well.
Several considerations favor the authenticity of Genesis 12-50 and make it
unlikely that these chapters were either fabricated by later storytellers or substantially
altered with non-historical elements in the course of a lengthy oral transmission. (1) The
Patriarchal stories are sober and restrained in dealing with the miraculous. Attention is
given to God and his actions, but not in ways that suppress the authentically human
dimensions of the narrative. (2) The accounts give every impression of being objective.
No obvious effort is made to idealize the patriarchs by hiding their weaknesses or
excusing their failures. Despite being the founding fathers of God’s holy people, they are
sometimes portrayed in an unflattering light: e.g., Abraham and Isaac are less than
truthful (20:2, 13; 26:7); Jacob and Rebekah are deceptive (27:5-29); Judah fathers two
sons by a prostitute (38:12-30); and most of Jacob’s sons- ancestors of the tribes of Israel
– struggled with jealousy and hatred (37:4,11). (3) The Patriarchs live at variance with
the standards of the Torah later erected for Israel: e.g., Abraham married his paternal
half-sister (20:10, contrary to Lev 18:11); Jacob married two sisters at the same time
(29:21-30, contrary to Lev 28:18; 35:14, contrary to Deut 16:22); and both Judah and
Simeon married Canaanite women (38:2;46:10; Ex 6:15, contrary Deut 7:1-3). Stories of
religious heroes would not likely be told in this way unless they were believed to rest on
historical facts. (4) the Patriarchs always appear as outsiders and sojourns in the land of
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Canaan. This would probably not be the case if their stories were later inventions; more
likely, national propagandists would have made them natives of Canaan, thus giving
Israel an ancestral claim to the Promised Land and not simply a theological claimbased
on an ancient covenant with Yahweh (17:7-8). (5) The Patriarchs fit comfortably within
the cultural, social and religious environment of the Middle Bronze Age (2000- 1500
B.C.). Archeological finds, though not yet attesting the existence of the Patriarchs as
individuals, confirm the general manner of life depicted in Genesis as well as specific
features related to adoption, surrogate motherhood, restitution and even the price of
slaves.
3.10.1 the Story of Abraham(12:1 – 25:11)
Abraham the great grandfather of Israel stands tall in biblical history as a pillar of
faith, righteousness and obedience (Heb 11:8-19). But more than just a model of heroic
trust in God, Abraham is presented in Genesis as a divinely chosen mediator of
worldwide blessings (12:3; 18:17-18; 22:17-18). This promise is reaffirmed with Isaac in
26:3-5 and Jacob in 28:13-14 (CCC 144-47).
3.10.2 The Abrahamic Covenant
The story of Abraham begins with the voice of God calling him to a new land
(Gen 12:1) and promising him extraordinary blessings for the future (Gen 12:2-3). The
divine promise was threefold: (1) to make Abraham a great nation, (2)to make his name
great and (3) to make him an instrument of blessing for the entire world. The first
promise is closely connected with the gift of land, which is necessary foundation for
building a nation. The second is closely connected with dynastic kingship, which
involves the exaltation and propagation of a royal name. The third is a promise of
worldwide blessing mediated through his offspring.
Within Genesis, these three promises are eventually upgraded to the status of
divine covenants. The first promise becomes a covenant in Gen 15: 7-21, where God
swears to rescue the family of Abraham from the oppression of a wicked nation and to
give them a new homeland. The second promise becomes a covenant in Gen 17:1-21,
where God institutes the rite of circumcision and swears to raise up a dynasty of kings out
of Abraham’s line. The third promise becomes a covenant oath in Gen 22: 16-18, where
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the Lord swears to multiply the offspring of Abraham and to use them in blessing all
nations.
Beyond Genesis, the promises and corresponding covenants reach their
fulfillment in three historical stages. The first promise takes shape during the Exodus
with the ratification of the mosaic covenant, which forges the family of Israel into a
nation (Ex 19-24)as they prepare to take possession of the Promised Land (in
Deuteronomy). The second promise materializes at the founding of the Davidic
Covenant, where the Lord installs David as king, swearing to give him a great name (2
Sam 7:9) and an everlasting throne (Ps 89:3-4; 132: 11-12). The third promise comes to
realization in the New Covenant as universal blessings are poured out on the world by
Jesus Christ, the messianic descendant of Abraham (Mt 1:1; Acts 3:25-26; Gal 3:14).
Promises Covenants Fulfillments
1. Great Nation Genesis 15 Mosaic Covenant
2. Great Name Genesis 17 Davidic Covenant
3. Worldwide Blessing Genesis 22 New Covenant
3.10.3 Abraham: Model of Faith and the Elected Mediator
“The Lord said to Abram: ‘Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your
father’s house to a land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will
bless you; I will make your name great so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those
who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the communities of the earth will find
blessing in you.’ Abram went as the Lord directed him…” (12:1-4)
These words mark a turning point. The steady spread of course, of the power of
death, by human beings who betray their call to imagehood, is about to be reversed. The
spread of blessings will be gradual process; it will call for a long period of education, but
it begins with the call of one person.
“ Go forth! Right here and now, in the present; let go of your past, your land your
family (the two realities which, then as now, make life both possible and meaningful) and
set out into a new future, a future that I will give you. I will be present to you, and you
will have a new land and a new family, but these, will flow from your relationship to me.
The power of life, of blessings, will be manifested through you and your family.”
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Abraham went as the Lord directed; he responded with obedient faith. God’s
original purpose for humans (be life giving, have dominion over the earth [Hebrew eres]
is focused now in a special way on this individual (you will beget a great family in the
land, I give you). But the horizon is indeeduniversal: “all the communities of the earth
will find blessings in you”.
Because he trusted himself into the darkness of God’s future, Abraham has been
considered the model of faith. But his faith was not a static, once-for-all response. It had
to be reaffirmed and deepened at later times in his life. No sooner do he and his family
arrive in the land, when famine drives them out into Egypt; then Sarah, his wife, is
threatened by Pharaoh. Abraham does not trust the promise but takes things into his own
hands (12: 10-20). The child of the promise is delayed; repeatedly Abraham tries to do
things his way: by adopting Eliezer (15: 1-6); by having a son, Ishmael through Hagar,
Sarah’s servant (16-17). Finally, when Isaac, the son of the promise arrives, Abraham
faces his greatest crisis: sacrifice your son (22: 1-19). The hope of God’s future, the
promise of life, would seem to end in death. In his struggle and anguish, Abraham affirms
his faith , and God reaffirms the promise(22:17-18) in words which echo and repeat the
words of 12: 1-3, 15:5, 17: 5-8.
In all of this, Abraham, the great model of faith, emerges as a curious mixture of
faith and doubt, of certainty and confusion. Is this consistent?. In the Bible, faith is not
viewed in the sterile and rationalistic sense of “the assent of the mind to certain truths or
propositions about God.” It is not the mind that believes; it is rather the person. Faith, in
the Bible, is a loving, trusting commitment of the whole self to God, a holding on
securely to God in spite of everything. At times we are confused; we struggle and doubt.
This is not opposed to faith; it is part of faith, the part that says that we care enough about
our relationship to God to question and argue (15: 2-3) and even at times to laugh(17:17).
3.10.4 Isaac
The long awaited son of the promise proves to be a fairly colorless character in
the story. Isaac, appearing as either Abraham’s son or Jacob’s father is primarily a
transition figure. He is obedient and meek.
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3.10.5 Jacob:Conflict and Reconciliation

In Jacob, however, we meet one of the liveliest of the biblical personages. While
still in the womb; Jacob is marked as a figure of strife and conflict (25: 19-26). The first
of his opponents in his brother Esau, who represents Edom, the country to the southeast
of Palestine and one of Israel’s traditional enemies. Jacob tricks Esau out of thebirthright
which belongs to him as the first born (25: 27-34); then, with his mother’s help, he
deceives his aged father into giving him the special blessing (27: 1-45). Not surprisingly,
Esau is none too happy about this and seeks to kill his brother: Jacob has to flee for his
life (27: 41-45).
Jacob leaves the land of Canaan and comes to Haran, far to the northeast, the city
from which Abraham had earlier set out (11: 31-32). There he falls in love with Rachel
and goes to work for Laban, his father-in-law to be (29: 1-14). Unlike Esau, Laban is
rather shrewd himself and a more worthy opponent for Jacob’s wiles. The struggle and
deceptions continue (29: 15-30:43).
Jacob has one final struggle. On his return to Canaan, he spends the night
wrestling with “some man”(32:25). Only at the end does he come to realize that he has
been contending with God. As he had been named “Jacob” because of his pre-birth
struggle with Esau, he is now renamed “Israel” because of his struggle with God (32:29)
Two aspects of the Jacob story can be noted. The first is that God’s presence and
promise are pure gift; they are not earned or merited. They cannot be based on a right, for
example, the right of the first born. As Isaac was not Abraham’s first born (Ishmael was),
so Jacob was second to Esau. Nor can they be claimed by merit. Jacob is hardly a
paragon of virtue, but it is precisely as he is fleeing from Esau’s anger, the direct
consequences of his own actions, that Jacob receives, in his dream at Bethel (28: 10-22),
the unexpected assurance of God’s presence and the renewal of blessing. In the land of
Laban these make Jacob prosperous and are manifested in the birth of the twelve
children(29:31-30:24); they urge Jacob to return to Canaan(31:1-3). All are God’s gift
and cannot be claimed on any basis.
However much God may be with Jacob, secondly, this does not solve all of his
problems. Jacob had made a mess of his relations with his brother, and had given as good
as he received with his father-in-law. It is up to Jacob to begin to put these relationships
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right. He must make efforts of reconciliation with each of them. Laban pursues Jacob
after his flight and presents his complaint (31:22-32:3). Jacob acknowledges his
dependence on God (31:42) and, at Laban’s initiative, agrees to conclude a covenant
(31:44). While the terms of their mutual oaths point to possible problems in the future,
the purpose of a covenant is peace, and the two do share in a covenant meal that
expresses this (31:54).
Esau is another matter (32: 4-22, 33: 1-20). Jacob sends messengers ahead to
plead for favor. When these bring back an ambiguous response, he again acknowledges
his dependence on God and his unworthiness (32:10-13) and sends more gifts ahead.
When at last the brothers meet, they have a tearful reunion (33:3-4). As they part to
continue their journey, Jacob begins to hedge again, and instead of joining Esau in Seir,
he heads for Shechem. Reconciliation there may be, but it is far from perfect.
In summary, God’s presence and blessing go with Jacob as gracious gift to which
he can lay no claim whatsoever. But this presence does not take away Jacob’s own
responsibility. He alienated Esau and Laban; it is his task to seek some kind of
reconciliation with both. In this context, Jacob recognizes and confess his own
dependence on God. And, interestingly enough, it is only after he has sought a peaceful
conclusion to his other struggle that Jacob has his final struggle, with God, and become ”
Israel” in the process.
3.10.6 Joseph: Faith and Reconciliation
Just as Isaac grew old and had trouble with his children, so Jacob undergoes a
similar fate. Because of the favoritism he shows to Joseph, his second-youngest son, there
is conflict and jealousy among the brothers (37:1-20). As a result, they plan first to kill
him but then revise this in favor of selling him into slavery. Sold to some travelling
traders, Joseph goes down into Egypt (37:2-36) where his fortune continues their descent.
Placed in charge of a large household, Joseph resists the advances of his owner,
Potiphar’s, wife. Thanks to her lying testimony, hegoes down into prison.
After two years in these depths, Joseph finally begins to rise. Pharaoh has had a
disturbing dream, and Joseph’s skills at interpretation are recalled. He comes up before
pharaoh. In view of the dream’s message regarding a coming famine, Pharaoh appoints
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Joseph to be in charge of all Egypt. Now enjoying full power, Joseph stands at the heights
(41:1-57).
When the famine strikes, all people from round about come to Egypt where,
thanks to Joseph’s wise administration, food can be found in abundance. Among those
coming down are Joseph’s brothers. He recognizes them, tests them and tricks them into
bringing Benjamin, the youngest son and his own full brother, to Egypt also. When at last
he makes himself known to them, his surprised and fearful brothers, he assures them of
his good will. Their father, Jacob, and all the rest of their families join them: They settle
and proper in Egypt.
Throughout the story, Joseph consistently recognizes and admits his dependence
on God. “How could I commit so great a wrong and thus stand condemned before God?”
(39:9) he says, spurning Potiphar’s wife. When pharaoh asks him to interpret his dream,
Joseph counters, “It is not I, but God who will give Pharaoh the right answer” (41:51-52).
When his brothers fear him, he assures them, “I am a God-fearing man” (42:18). They
may have intended to harm him years before, but Joseph now sees that through all of this
it was really God working out a hidden plan for life(45:5, 7-9). Finally, when Jacob dies,
and the brothers fear once again, Joseph reassures them, “Have no fear. Can I take the
place of God?” (50;19).
Because he recognizes and accepts his place before God, Joseph is able to
accomplish two things. First, he provides for the life of the land. In fact, this is why God
had sent him on ahead to Egypt, “for the sake of saving lives” (45:5-8), “for the survival
of many people”(50:20). Secondly, he brought about reconciliation within his family. He
had full power and could have taken revenge and imposed frightful punishments, but
“Have no fear. Can I take the place of God?”(50:19).
Joseph appears, in other words, as the opposite of Adam and Eve. Created for
imagehood and entrusted with the task of spreading life and sharing God’s dominion over
chaos, they failed. They preferred to be “like gods”(3:5) and so begot death, strife and
brokenness. Restoring unity would now have the character of reconciliation. Joseph,
however, has no delusions; he is under God and he knows it .Because of this, he is able,
through his dominion over the land, to be the minister both of life and of reconciliation;
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he becomes a source of blessing. But there is a shadow: Joseph is humanlike us, and his
administration does contain the seeds of later problems (47:13-27).
Conclusion
At the beginning of any spirituality lies some conception of God and the human
and of their interrelationship. Genesis shows as God who exercises effortless dominion
over the chaos, who calls into being a whole, integrated, harmonious universe and fills it
with living beings. As human beings, men and women, we are called by God to recognize
and accept in faith who we are. We manifest this by our sharing in God’s continuing
dominion over the chaos and by being life-giving. The primeval history shows how we
fail, first by rejecting imagehood and then by producing death and brokenness in our
world. In other words, we return the world to chaos.however, God’s will for life and
blessing will heard. Thefirst and most basic step in this direction is that we recognize and
admit our creaturehood. Thus the first cycle of stories that follow presents us with
Abraham who, in response to God’s call, leaves everythingand follows wherever God
may lead. Later, in the New Testament, Abraham’s obedient faith will be basic to Paul’s
argument (e.g., Rom 4:13-16) and the model for the gospel call narratives(e.g., Mt 4:18-
22).
The second story cycle presents us with Jacob who also, at times, recognizes his
independence on God, but the focus is more on the need to see and appreciate how we
sow strife in our lives and must take the responsibility to be agents of reconciliation and
peace. Finally in the third cycle, Joseph combines both of these requirements. He is a
person of faith who can then share in furthering God’s purpose, giving life and bringing
wholeness and peace.
The book of Genesis is about God and about human beings, all of them, men and
women of every time and every place. It is about how we are called to exercise power in
our lives and in our world, the power of being God’s royal image, and how and why we
fail.
4 The Book of Exodus
4.1 TitleThe Hebrew title for Exodus consists of its opening words, we’ellehshemot ,
meaning “and these are the names”(1:1). It replicates the words of Gen 46:8 and serves
as an indicator that Exodus is a continuation of the Genesis story, where the family of
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Jacob is last mentioned living in Egypt. The Greek Septuagint (LXX) entitles the book
Exodus, meaning “departure”. This heading expresses more the substance of the book,
which recounts the mass migration of Israel out of northern Egypt. The Latin Vulgate
follows the Greek version by giving the title Exodus, from which the English title is
derived.
4.2 StructureThe internal structure of Exodus may be divided in different ways.
Focusing on its theological themes, It is possible to read the book as two great actions of
God: the first part narrates the divine redemption of Israel (1:1-18:27),and the second part
catalogues the divine revelation given to Israel (19:1-40:38). Others outline the book
according to its geographical movement and settings. From this perspective, Exodus
unfolds as a drama in three parts: Israel begins its journey in Egypt (1:1-13:16), marches
through the wilderness (13:17-18:27), and finally assembles at Mount Sinai (19:1-40:38).
4.3 ThemesExodus recounts how the enslaved people of Israel became the covenant
nation of Yahweh. The theology of the book is intertwined with its epic storyline, which
moves from liberation to legislation. (1) Liberation. The Exodus adventure begins with a
mighty act of deliverance. Yahweh hears the groaning of his children in Egyptian
bondage, blasts their oppressors with a tenfold judgment, and frees them from the
shackles of the pagan superpower (chaps.1-12). From Egypt, he leads them into the
wilderness, with the goal of guiding them on to a new homeland in Canaan. Along the
way, Yahweh parts the waters of the sea and gives his people a path to a better future.
When Pharaoh’s chariots pursue, Yahweh brings the waters crashing down, wiping out
the enemy entirely (14:1-29). Victory over the Egyptians is soon followed by a victory
over the Amalekites (17:8-16), and then the Lord brings his weary people to the safety of
Mount Sinai (19:1). Like no other event in early biblical history, the Exodus from Egypt
looms large in the Bible as the premier paradigm of salvation. Indeed, later biblical
books, including those in the NT, will look back on the Exodus deliverance as God’s
pledge of something grater still to come-a more definitive redemption and a more perfect
covenant awaiting his people in the future. (2) Legislation. At Sinai, the children of Israel
meet their divine Father and Savior and accept his covenant, (chaps. 19-24). The terms of
this covenant, which unites Yahweh and Israel in a blood of spiritual kinship, are
expressed in the Sinai laws. Initially this consists of the Ten Commandments and a short
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code of social ethics and religious requirements (chaps. 20-23).But after the people bow
in worship before an idol, the broken Sinai covenant is renewed, and the original law
code is greatly expanded. The latter part of Exodus is dominated by laws given for the
manufacture of a movable sanctuary, or Tabernacle, where Yahweh chooses to dwell in a
real but hidden way in the midst of his people (chaps.25-31 and 35-40). These laws
underscore both the holiness and the righteousness of God and will determine the
essential structure of Israel’s life and liturgy for centuries afterward.
4.4 Historical Authenticity It is well known that Egyptian historical records
never mentioned the bondage and liberation of Israel described in the Bible. This is not
surprising, given the tendency of the pharaohs and their scribes to pass over in silence
anything deemed embarrassing to Egypt and its king nevertheless, some (often called
historical “minimalists or revisionists”) interpret this silence to mean that the Exodus
never actually happened. Lacking independent attestation from sources outside the Bible,
the story presented in Exodus and retold elsewhere in Scripture is suspected of being
religious propaganda written up after the Babylonian Exile with no real basic history.
Careful analysis of Exodus shows that historical skepticism of this sort is both
simplistic and problematic. Numerous details in the book bear witness to real-life
conditions in Egypt and Sinai that are difficult to account for if the Exodus story was
thought up by Jewish writers in Palestine hundreds of years after the alleged time frame
of the narrative. Among these details are the following. (1) Exodus is punctuated with
authentic Egyptian loanwords, including “Nile” (1:22; 4:9; etc.), “reeds” (2:3; note on
13:18), “magicians” (7:11; 8:7; etc.), “fine … linen” (25:4; 26:1; etc.), “emerald” (28:18;
39:11), and gold “leaf” (39:3; cf. Num 16:38). Likewise, the names of key individuals in
the book, such as Moses (2:10), Miriam (15:20), and Hur (17:10), are based on native
Egyptian names.
(2) As in Exodus, sources from the second millennium B.C. describe Semitic and
other foreign slaves conscripted to work for Egypt as field hands (as in 1:14) and laborers
for large construction projects (as in 1:11; note on 1:18-22). Evidence that slaves were
supervised by armed taskmasters is also attested at this time (as in 5:6), as is the fact that
production quotas were set for brick makers (as in 5:8).
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(3) The wilderness Tabernacle featured in the final chapters of Exodus mirrors the
use of portable tent sanctuaries elsewhere in the Near East at the time of Moses and even
earlier (note on 25:1-31:18). Its system of interlocking joints, wood framing, and gold
overlay are indebted specifically to Egyptian technology going back into the second and
third millennia B.C.
(4) The book is acquainted with local conditions described in the story, such as
the Egyptian agricultural calendar (9:31-32) and the use of acacia wood for the structure
and furnishings of the Tabernacle (25:10, 13, 23, etc.). The latter detail is significant
because this particular hardwood is indigenous to parts of Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula
but is not found in Palestine.
(5)Catholic Church Teaching: assumes the historicity of Moses and Exodus:After
the patriarchs, God formed Israel his people by freeing them fromslavery in Egypt. He
established with them the covenant of Mount Sinaiand, through Moses, gave them his
law so that they would recognize himand serve him as the one living and true God, the
provident Father and justjudge, and so that they would look for the promised savior.

4.5 Christian Perspective Christian tradition finds inspiration in the historical

events of the Exodus as well as in their spiritual and typological meaning. The Ten
Commandments given at Sinai, so central to the ethics of Israel, remain integral to the
catechesis of Jesus and the apostles to the moral and spiritual life (see Mt 19:16-19; Rom
13:8-10). A spiritual reading of Exodus discerns the mystery of Christian redemption
prefigured in multiple ways. (1) The deliverance from bondage in Egypt prefigures our
own deliverance from the slavery to sin (Rom 6:6-7). This can be seen especially in the
crossing of the sea, which serves as a prophetic anticipation of Baptism (1 Cor 10:1-2).
(2) The feast of Passover, which memorializes the Exodus event, points the way to
Christ, the Lamb of God, whose blood delivers us from death and whose flesh is made
food in the paschal meal of the Eucharist (1 Cor 5:7-8, 1 Pet 1:18-19). (3) Israel’s
journey through the wilderness shows us that life’s journey is a time to avoid sin (1Cor
10:1-13) and to grow in faith (Heb 3:1-4:13). (4) The manna that fell in the wilderness,
along with the water that gushed from the rock, are viewed as foretastes of the Eucharist (
Jn 6:31-35: 1 Cor 10:1-4). (5) The Tabernacle typifies the mystery of the Incarnation, by
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which God and his glory dwelt among us in the humanity of Jesus Christ ( Jn1:14 ).
(6) The Book of Revelation looks ahead to the ultimate fulfillment of our Exodus
liberation in heaven, where the saints, ransomed by the blood of Jesus the Lamb (Rev
5:9) are granted some of the hidden manna (Rev 2:17) and allowed to drink freely of the
water of life for all eternity (Rev 21:6; 22:17). (7) Beyond the NT, the church Fathers
would discover even more foreshadowing of Christian faith and life, believing that “the
entire Exodus of the people from Egypt, having taken place under divine guidance, is a
type and an image of the Church’s Exodus from among the nations” (St.Irenaeus, Against
Heresies 4,30,4).
4.6 Content of the book of the Exodus
4.6.1 The Call of Moses (Exodus 1-4)
1. All 12 Tribes have descendants in Egypt (1:1)
2. Exodus and Abrahamic Covenant: God “remembers” his covenant (2:23-24)
3. The Theophany on Mount Sinai (3:1-22)
a. Location Mt. Sinai: “Horeb, the mountain of God” (Exod 3:1; cf. 3:12)
b. The Burning Bush: Fire and the presence of the Spirit of God
c. Moses hides his face: he is afraid to look upon God
4. Purpose of Exodus:
a. To worship God (Hbabad; Gk latreuo) (Exod 3:12)
b. To enter into Promised Land of “milk and honey” (Exod 3:17)
5. The Name of the LORD (Exod 3:14):
a. Eternal God: “I AM WHO I AM” (Hbehyehasherehyeh; Gk ego eimi ho on)
(Revelation of God in Se; Greek theologia)
b. God of the Covenant: “God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob”
(Revelation of God pro nobis; Greek oikonomia)
6. The Reluctance of Moses (Exod 4:1-20)
a. Moses’ speech impediment
b. Aaron: the voice of Moses, a “mouth for you”
7. God attempt to Kill Moses? (Exod 4:24-26)
4.6.2 The Exodus Plagues (Exodus 5-11)
1. God’s Message to Pharaoh: “Israel is my first-born son” (4:22)
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a. First-born sons are “consecrated” to God as priests

b. If Israel is First-born son, then Gentiles are also God’s children
2. Request for Israel to Go and Sacrifice in the Wilderness (5:1-3)
a. Reason: “Lest God fall upon us with pestilence and sword” (Exod 5:3)
b. Why would God do this? Israel has been in idolatry (cf. Ezek 20:6-8)
3. The Plagues of Egypt (Exodus 5-11)
The Plagues of Egypt The Gods of Egypt
1. Nile turned to Blood 1. Hapi, god of the Nile, fertility
2. Frogs 2. Heket, frog goddess of fruitfulness
3. Gnats 3. Kepher, beetle god;
4. Flies 4. symbol of sun
5. Cattle 5. Amon, Hathor, etc.(male and female cow-gods)
6. Boils 6. Sekhmet, goddess of healing
7. Hail (kills remainder of crops) 7. Nut, sky-goddess fails
8. Locusts 8. Serapia, protector from locusts
9. Darkness 9. Re the Sun god
4. Purpose of Plagues: “On all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment” (Exod 12:12)
5. Moses insists on going to desert; sacrifices are “abominable” to Egyptians (Exod 8:26)
4.6.3 The Passover of Egypt (Exodus 12-13)1
1. The Passover (Heb pesach) (12:1-14)
a. Kill an unblemished, male Lamb: not a bone to be broken
b. Dip a Hyssop Branch in the Blood of the Lamb
c. Sprinkle the blood on the doorposts
d. Eat the “flesh” of the Lamb
2. The Feast of Unleavened Bread (Heb mazzot) (13:1-10)
a. 7 Day Feast immediately following Passover
b. Memorial of the haste with which Israelites left Egypt
4.6.3 From the Red Sea to Mount Sinai (Exodus 14-18)
1. The Pillar of Cloud by Day and Fire by Night (14:17-22)
2. The Crossing of the Red Sea and The Song of Moses (14-15)
3. The Manna and Quail from Heaven (16:1-31)
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a. “Bread” from Heaven

b. “Flesh” from Heaven
4. The Water from the Rock at Horeb (17:1-7)
The Ten Commandments (Exod 19-20)
1. Israel’s Vocation:
a. “A Kingdom of Priests”
b. “A Holy Nation” (Hebrew qadosh = ‘set apart’)
2. Debate Over How to Order the Decalogue
a. Judaism: “I am the LORD your God” = 1st Commandment (20:2)
b. Protestantism: “No other gods” and “no graven images” = 1st and 2nd Coms
c. Catholicism: “No graven images” = 1st Com.; Coveting wife vs. property (9-
10)
Tablet 1: Love of God Tablet 2: Love of Neighbor
1. Idolatry: sanctity of God
2. Blasphemy: sanctity of God’s name
3. Irreligion: sanctity of worship
4. Honor Parents: sanctity of Family
5. Murder: Sanctity of Life
6. Adultery: Sanctity of Marriage
7. Theft: Sanctity of Private Property
8. False Witness: Sanctity of Truth
9. Coveting Neighbor’s Wife
10. Coveting Neighbor’s Property
3. Any violation of the Decalogue: punishable by death.
4.6.4 The Book of the Covenant (Exod 21-23)
1. Laws concerning slaves (21:1-11)110
2. Laws concerning violence and harm (21:12-36)
3. Laws of restitution (22:1-31)
4. Laws concerning justice (23:1-9)
a. The Sabbatical Year (23:10-11)
b. The Sabbath day rest (23:12-13)
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5. The Liturgical Year: Annual Feasts (23:13-17)

6. Conquest of the Promised Land (23:20-33)
4.6.5 The Covenant Liturgy at Mount Sinai (Exod 24)
1. Covenant Mediators:
a. The 1: Moses goes “alone”
b. The 3: Aaron, Nadab, Abihu
c. The 12: “young men” from the “tribes of Israel”
d. The 70 Elders (Greek presbyteroi) of Israel
2. Moses builds an Altar
3. Covenant Law: “The Book of the Covenant” (24:7)
4. Covenant Sacrifice: the “Blood of the Covenant” (24:8)
a. Moses splashes the blood on the altar
b. Moses throws the blood on the people
5. Theophanic Covenant Meal: “they beheld God” and “ate and drank” (24:9)
6. Moses alone enters the Cloud of Fire (40 Days and 40 Nights) (24:15)
4.6.6 The Tabernacle of Moses (Exod 25-31)
1. Moses receives instructions for the Tabernacle while in the Glory Cloud (cf. 25:31)
2. The Ark of the Covenant (25:10-22)
3. The Golden Table: the Bread of the Presence (lehem ha panim) (25:23-30)
4. The Golden Lampstand: the Menorah (25:31-40)
5. The Tabernacle: the portable tent (Exod 26-27)
a. Cherubim on the Curtains (26:1)
b. The Veil—with Cherubim (26:31)
c. Separation from the Holy Place
6. The Bronze Altar of Sacrifice (27:1-8)
7. The Court of Sacrifice: bronze utensils (27:9-19)
8. The Lamp: lit with oil; burns continuously (27:20-21)
9. The Aaronic High Priesthood (Exod 28)
a. Priestly Vestments: “for glory and beauty” (28:40)
b. High Priest: Bell rings when he enters (28:34-35)
c. The Priestly Turban (Greek mitre) (28:36-39)
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d. The “Holy Crown” (29:6)

10. Golden Altar of Incense (30:1-10)
11. Bronze Laver of Water (30:17-21)
12. Holy Oil: anoint Temple priests (30:22-33)
13. Incense: for offering sacrifice (30:34-38)
4.6.7 The Fall of the Israelites: The Golden Calf (Exodus 32-33)
4.6.8 The Renewed Covenant and Building of the Tabernacle (Exod 34-40)
1. New Tablets of Decalogue: Moses ascends the mountain alone this time (34:1)
2. God of the OT: a God of Love and Forgiveness (34:6-7)
a. Forgiveness ≠ No temporal punishment for sin
3. God makes “a covenant” with Israel (34:11)
4. New Laws added to covenant
a. Ransoming of first-born sons (34:19-20)
b. Moses adds “words of the covenant” to the “ten words” (34:27-28)
5. The Shining Face of Moses (34:29-35)
6. The Building of the Tabernacle: coming of the Glory Cloud (Exod 35-40)
4.7 Exodus: Freedom From and Freedom For
At the end of Genesis, the Joseph story showed how Jacob and his descendants
and their families left the land of Canaan and migrated to Egypt, settling down there and
eventually prospering.
God’s blessing manifested in Israel’s growth,because of that the Egyptians fear
them and begin to oppress them. The book of Exodus recounts the story of how God
delivers them from this oppression, and how they set out on their journey to the land of
Canaan. The word “exodus”, in fact, means literally “out on the way”.
4.8 The name “Moses” (Hebrew, Mosheh) mean? Scientifically, the name derives
from an Egyptian word meaning “begotten-of”. God, working through Pharaoh’s
daughter, draws Moses out of the water and into life; God, acting through Moses, will
draw the Israelites safely out of the water (of the sea) and into life.
4.9 The Name of God: The name of Israel’s covenant God is YHWH. Thus when we
read “the Lord,” the Hebrew text most often reads “YHWH.”The name Jehovah never
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existed as such.Was Yahweh a name new to the Israelites at the time of the Exodus? It is
most likely that it was. “I am YHWH, your God, who led you out of the land of Egypt.”
Texts in Genesis which show these ancestors calling on YHWH by name. These are most
likely to be understood as theological, rather than historical, statements expressing the
belief that even though Israel came to know YHWH only at the time of the Exodus, it
was in fact this same YHWH who was calling their ancestors long before.
What then does the name “YHWH” mean. We are asking for specific information,
namely, of a scientific or historical nature.
“YHWH” is a third person, causative form of the verb “to be” and means something like
“God causes to be (the heavenly hosts)”.
“I am /am continually/will be who I am/am continually/will be.”
God is not giving, nor would the Israelites have been interested in, a philosophy lesson.
What is at issue here is dynamic, active, concerned presence: “I am…..to you, with you. I
am present, caring for you. I am your God, you are my people.” Later when the people
have broken the covenant, God will say through Hosea, “I am not/no longer Ehyeh to
you” (1:9). For Israel, what did “Yahweh” mean? It mean the God who was/is present to
and caring for Israel; the God they had known in their history; the God who heard their
cry of distress. Ehiye Asher Ehiye I will be what I was.
4.10 Crossing of the Sea A subtle sarcasm emerges in the detail that the defeat of the
Egyptians happened “just before dawn” (14:24). In the Egyptian religion, the sun god,
travelling during the night through the land of darkness, defeat darkness “just before
dawn” and rises victorious to the new day. It is precisely at the moment when Pharaoh
(the sun god) should be victorious that he is soundly defeated by Yahweh.
In all of this, the biblical accounts are telling us something very important about
the meaning of the event at the sea. First, Yahweh alone is God. The Egyptian god
(Pharaoh) is powerless; the Canaanite god, Sea, is no threat but is simply Yahweh’s
weapon against the Egyptians. Secondly, this Yahweh delivers this people, guiding them
safely in the midst of chaos and destruction (i.e., with the sea on either side of them,
14:22, 29). Yahweh “creates” the people, giving them life in place of the certain death
they were facing. Israel does nothing, but receives the gracious gift of life. We have left
the world of mythology where gods struggle with each other for power. There is no
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struggle here at all, and no other gods to worry about. Yahweh delivers historical people,
Israel, from historical enemies, Egyptians, but this deliverance is described borrowing the
powerful symbols of the ancient religious world.
The same symbol of Sea as a force of chaos, death and destruction appears
frequently in the prayers of lamentation in the book of Psalms. This is very appropriate
because lament is the response to being overwhelmed by the power of the realm of death.
The people were preserved safely in the midst of “Sea” and were “created” as uniquely
Yahweh’s own.
4.11 Signs and Wonders
A miracle is something that goes so beyond the causality of natural laws that it
must be attributed to divine intervention.The Bible does, however, call these great acts of
Yahweh something: they are:signs and wonders." A “sign” is an event which points
within itself to some deeper meaning; a “wonder” is something which draws our
attention; we look at it with awe and amazement; it is special.
For us, something, which we cannot understand or explain, is a miracle; it points
to God. For the bible anything that points to God is a miracle, a sign, a wonder.This was
an affirmation made by Israel, expressing its faith in its God.
4.12 Sinai: TheophanyThis large section (Ex 19-Nm 10) forms the center and heart of
the Pentateuch. It was at Sinai that Israel had an experience of God’s presence
(theophany), entered into covenant with their God, and received the covenant law. The
awesome appearance of God is described in the classic language of the appearance of the
storm god, with dark clouds, thunder and lightning.But it seems clear that the people had
a profound experience of the power and presence of God.
4.13 Yahweh their go’el (redeemer) In Israel, this obligation was connected with the
office of go’el, redeemer or recoverer, who, as next of kin, had the duty to safeguard the
life and integrity o the family or tribe. Thus, if property was alienated, the go’elshould
buy it back (Lev 25:25; Jer 32: 6-7);if a family member is sold into slavery, the
go’elshould free him (Lev 25:47-49); if a man in the tribe dies childless, the go’el should
beget children with the widow in the name of the deceased so that his name and property
will stay within the family(this is the “levirate law”; see Dt 25:5-10; Gen 38:8; Ruth 2:20;
3:12; 4:4).
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It meant that Israel and Yahweh formed one family. As a faithful family member then,
Yahweh had assumed the role of go’el and redeemed Israel from the slavery and bondage
of Egypt.
4.14 Sinai Covenant: Israel recognized Yahweh as its go’el and they entered into
covenant.Some measure of trust and confidence had to be established for the stability of
social and political life. The covenant served this function. A covenant was an agreement
or promise between two parties solemnly professed before witness and made binding by
an oath expressed verbally or by some symbolic action.
Thus, partners to a covenant often were called “brothers”. The goal of the
covenant was shalom, peace, wholeness of relationship between the parties.The Hebrew
word usually translated “covenant” is berith.Many treaties have been found, but
especially important are those of the Hittites. Thus Israel, the vassal, was seen as having
made a treaty at Sinai with the great King of heaven.
At Sinai, Israel recoganized its kinship with Yahweh and there sealed a covenant
which expressed that realization. A blood ritual (24:6-8)and a meal (24:11,5).A
relationship existed between blood and life so deep that one’s life was envisaged as
inherent in the blood itself(Lev 17:11).
Moses sprinkled the blood on the altar, representing God, and then on the people;
they have the same blood “in their veins. ”This is the cup of my blood of the new and
everlasting covenant.”
The symbolism of sharing a meal to express and seal a covenant is likewise rich
in meaning. To harm someone with whom you have shared table-community was
considered an especially serious offense (e.g. Ps 41:10). Here too the meal expresses a
family sharing of life and shalom among themselves and God.
4.15 Sinai Law: Covenant involves obligation, so much so that one scholar has argued
that the word berith really means obligation. We should not, however, view this
obligation as something attached or added on from the outside. Israel was gifted with life;
the covenant expressed their family life with Yahweh. New behaviour flows from the
covenant life.
This new behaviour was manifested in two areas of life. The first of these is the
vertical relationship with God. Not just a freedom from, but a freedom for.” Go down
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Moses.... tell to Pharoah, Let my people go!”. The purpose and goal of the Exodus is
Sinai.Israel’s first duty, then, was to be faithful to Yahweh. Israel owes Yahweh abodah.
“servitude, hard work”. But it comes to be the Hebrew word for “worship/liturgy.” The
God we worship is the ultimate source of our values and our behaviour. Then , as now,
the most basic sin against the covenant is not atheism but idolatry.
The Israelites had forgotten that they must serve only Yahweh and seek to “ be
holy for I, the Lord, your God, am holy” (Lev 19:2). In striving “ to be holy” the Hebrew
realized that social behaviour was of prime importance also. The horizontal relationship
with others is the second area affected by their new covenant life. The covenant at Sinai
revealed an intrinsic connection between the nature of Yahweh and the demands of social
justice. The Hebrews had been poor and oppressed in Egypt, and Yahweh had delivered
them. A motive frequently found in the laws for treating the poor kindly and not
oppressing the weak is “ because you were once strangers (aliens) in the land of Egypt” .
Prophets called the people first to do justice, and only after that to worship. Right
worship is manifested in social behaviour; social injustice flows from idolatry. The two
areas, intrinsically connected, stand or fall together; they are flip sides of the same coin.
They represent further specifications of the call to imagehood articulated in
Genesis 1:26-28. The first task is to accept imagehood, that is, to accept our creaturehood
and dependence on the creator God. The Sinai covenant, adds that we recognize that all
of our lives are the gift of the redeeming God who freed us from oppression and wants, in
return, our sole and undivided worship. The second task is to live out our imagehood in
and through all of our other relationships. The Sinai covenant with its twofold obligation
is another step in God’s educating us in imagehood.
4.16 Falling-out and Renewal Immediately following thesealingof the covenant,
elaborate instructions are given for the construction of two items, the Ark and the Tent,
both of them symbols of Yahweh’s continuing presence in the midst of the people. But
before they can be built, the people sin, and Yahweh’s presence is brought into question.
Moses is delayed; the people are confused. They call on Aaron to make them a
god to be their leader. He collects their jewellery and fashions a golden calf.
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Suddenly, when they misbehave, they are Moses’ people whom Moses brought out!
Moses is not about to let that slip by. “Why, O Lord, should your wrath flare up against
your own people whom you brought out....” (32:11)
Aaron evades the issue in a fashion worthy of Adam and Eve in the garden of Gen
3. “This is an evil people! They gave me their gold which I threw in the fire. Then, out
popped this calf!” d, like the Adam and Eve story, the rejection of God for an idol leads
not to life but to death.
Covenant, and law are present. Yahweh appeared to Moses, passed before him,
and cried out in one of the most famous and important passages Old Testament theology,
“ Yahweh, Yahweh, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and
fidelity, continuing his kindness for a thousand generations, and forgiving wickedness
and crime and sin; yet not declaring the guilty guiltless, but punishing children and
grandchildren to the third and fourth generation for their father’s wickedness!”(34:5-9)
So Moses stayed there with the Lord for forty days and forty nights, without
eating any food or drinking any water, and he wrote on the tablets the words of the
covenant, the Ten Commandments (34:27-28). The crisis has been passed; rupture has
been replaced by renewal.
4.17 ConclusionThe book of Exodus deals with two events in the history of Israel, the
Exodus from Egypt (Ex 1-15) and the covenant at Sinai (Ex 19-40). These events, which
form the foundation of Israel’s distinct identity as a people, can be viewed from a variety
of angles. By way of summary and conclusion, we can look at them (1) as grace and
response, and (2) as freedom from and freedom for.
A covenant was an agreement or promise between two parties, establishing right
relations, shalom, between them. The two parties to the Sinai covenant were God and the
Hebrew people. The initiative was with God who acted first, choosing the people and
intervening in history to deliver and save them when they were enslaved and oppressed.
Yahweh “heard the groaning and was mindful of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob. He saw the Israelites and knew....” (Ex 2:24).
For its part, Israel responded to God’s gracious acts, recognizing that they were
YHWH’s people, accepting the covenant, and promising to live by its demands. The
many laws, touching on every area of life, helped specify how and what this meant. As
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new generations faced new situations, new laws were assimilated into the context of the
Sinai covenant so that the people’s response might be wholehearted and up to date, that
is, in touch with the reality of their everyday lives. God’s grace and Israel’s response is
expressed concisely in the so-called “covenant formula,” “I will be your God, and you
will be my people” (e.g., Ex 6:7; Lev 26:12; Dt 4:20; 7:6; Jer31 :33; Ezek 37:27).
The Exodus events recall how Yahweh delivered Israel from the slavery of Egypt.
The Egyptians had “ reduced them to cruel slavery, making life bitter for them with hard
work in mortar and brick and all kinds of field work- the whole cruel fate of slaves” Ex
1:13-14). The Hebrew root ‘abad means “to serve with hard labor /slavery”; it occurs five
times in the passage just quoted. Yahweh is a God who hears the cry of the oppressed and
frees from such slavery.
But for what? The goal of liberation is Sinai. “Let my people go so that they
might serve me” (Ex 5:1, 3, etc.,). The Hebrew root translated “serve” is ‘abad’; the
Hebrews owe Yahweh their ‘abodah’. We have seen that this word comes to mean
“worship/liturgy”; it is the same word used three times in Ex 1:13-14 for “hard
work/slavery.” Further, Israel is forbidden to enslave other Israelites because “those
whom I brought out of the land of Egypt are slaves of mine, they shall not be sold as
slaves to anyone else” (Lev 25:42). This passage has clear linguistic connections with Ex
1:13-14.
As unattractive as it might be to say so, the biblical text is as clear as it can be.
The goal of YHWH’s liberation is not simply “freedom” in any abstract sense. The
Israelites are freed from slavery to Pharaoh in order to become slaves to Yahweh! The
question is not “Slavery, Yes or No?”; it is “Slavery to whom?” Slavery to Pharaoh (or
any other idol) leads to death; slavery to Yahweh leads to life. Thus, true freedom is
found only in slavery to God. St. Paul makes this same point exactly when he tells the
Romans that they were once slaves to sin, but have become slaves to God (Rom 6:15-23).
This is the same basic question as that of imagehood but now refracted through the
experience of liberation from the slavery of Egypt. Our spiritual question remains: “Do
we recognize who we truly are, and how we are to live?”
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5 The Book of Leviticus

5.1 The Kinds of Sacrifice (Lev 1-7)
1. Sacrifice: ritualized self-offering
2. Sacrifices that express communion with God
a. Burnt Offering (‘olah; Latin: holocaust) (1:1-17)
b. Cereal offering (minhah) (2:1-16)
c. Peace Offering (shelamim) (3:1-17)
3. Sacrifices that restore communion with God:
a. Sin Offering (hattah) (4:1-35)
b. Guilt offering (asham) (5:1-19)
4. Confession of Sins before Sacrifice (Lev 5:1-7)
5. Laws of Sacrifices (6:8-7:38)
6. Peace Offering: as a “Thanksgiving” (todah) with unleavened bread
5.2 TheRites of Priestly Ordination (Lev 8)
1. Ordination: performed “at the door of the tent of meeting” (8:1-4)
2. Washing with Water (8:5-6)
3. The Vesting of the High Priest, Aaron (8:7-9)
a. The Coat
b. The Sash
c. The Robe
d. The Ephod
e. The Skillfully wove band of the Ephod
f. The Breastpiece
g. The Urim and Thummim
h. The Turban (Gk mitre)
i. The Golden Plate: “the holy crown”
4. The Anointing with Oil: the priests are “consecrated” () (8:10-14)
a. The Tabernacle anointed
b. The Altar and Utensils anointed
d. Aaron anointed with oil
5. The Vesting of Aaron’s Sons (8:10-13)
6. The Ordination Sacrifices:
a. Bull of the sin offering (8:14-17)
b. Ram of the burnt offering (8:18-21)
c. Ram of Ordination (8:22-25)
d. Basket of “Unleavened Bread” (8:26-27)
e. Wave Offering: before the Lord (8:28-29)
f. Sprinkling of Blood and Oil (8:30-31)
7. The Ordination Meal: they eat “the flesh and the bread” (8:31-35)
5.3 Inauguration of Aaronic High Priesthood (Lev 9-10)
1. First Sacrifices of Aaron and Sons (9:1-24)
2. Priestly Blessing: “Lifting up of hands” (9:22)
3. The “Fire” of Glory Cloud: acceptance of sacrifice (9:23-24)
4. The Revolt of Nadab and Abihu (10:1-3)
5. Rules for Priests (10:4-20)
a. “Rending” Vestments: priest dies/brings wrath upon the people (10:6)
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b. Against Drinking “wine nor strong drink” while ministering (10:9)

6. Purpose of Priests:
a. Liturgy: to “distinguish between the holy and the common” (10:10)
b. Torah: to “teach” Israel the statutes of God (10:8-11()
7. The Priests as Sin Bearers: they “eat” the “sin [offering]” (10:16-20)
5.4 Laws of Cleanness and Uncleannes (Lev 11-15)118
1. Food Laws (kosher): Clean and Unclean Animals (11:1-47)119
a. Ethical: abstention from blood and violence
b. Aesthetic: appearance of unclean animals is repugnant
c. Theological: unclean animals associated with pagan cults are taboo
d. Hygienic: unclean animals are bad for human health
e. Morphological: unclean animals are anomalous/mixed categories
f. Ecclesiological: food laws separate Israel from Gentiles (cf. Acts 10)
2. Purification of Women (12:1-8; cf. Luke 2:22-24)
3. Skin Diseases (13:1-59)
4. The Cleansing of Leprosy (14:1-56)
5. Bodily Discharges (15:1-31)
a. Men’s Discharges (15:1-18)
b. Women’s Discharges (15:19-31)
6. Rationale for Laws: liturgical, not moral impurity (15:31)120
a. Separation of Sons of Israel from “uncleanness”
b. Lest they die “by defiling my Tabernacle”
5.5 The Day of Atonement (Lev 16)
1. The High Priest: only enters the Holy of Holies once a year (16:1-4)
a. He must wear the “holy linen coat”
b. He must wash with water
2. The Offering of the Bull as a Sin Offering, for “himself” (16:6)
3. The Two Goats: origin of the ‘Scapegoat’ (16:6-10)
a. One Goat “For the LORD” = a Sin offering
b. One Goat “For Azazel” = “sent away into the wilderness”
4. Aaron enters the Holy Place “in the cloud” of Incense (16:11-14)
5. Sacrifice of the Goat of the Sin Offering: to “make atonement” (16:15-19)
6. The Scapegoat: shall “bear all their iniquities” upon his “head” (16:20-22)
7. Second Washing and Offering of Burnt Offering for the People (16:23-28)
8. Day of Atonement: “you shall afflict yourselves” = do penance (16:29)
Later Jewish Tradition: The Miracle of the Scarlet Thread
1. The Priest tied “a thread of crimson wool” to the head of the Scapegoat.
2. The Priest tied a thread around the “throat” of the goat to be sacrificed.
3. The Goat was “delivered” to a Gentile (non-Israelite) to be ‘led away’;
4. Scarlet Thread: one half tied to rock before Goat is pushed over a cliff into valley.
5. How did they know the Goat had died?
Rabbi Ishmael says: Had they not another sign also?—a thread of crimson wool was tied
tot he door of the Sanctuary and when the he-goat reached the wilderness the thread
turned white; for it is written, “Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be white as
snow” (Isa 1:18).124
[Jewish] tradition has it that when the sacrifice was fully accepted the scarlet-mark
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which the scape-goat had borne became white, to symbolise the gracious promise in Isa.
1:18 [“Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be white as snow.”], but it adds that this
miracle did not take place for forty years before the destruction of the Temple!”
Later Jewish Tradition: the Blood of Atonement
1. The priest did this quickly so as not to cause “terror” in the people.
2. Time of Jesus: there was no Ark, so blood sprinkled on “Foundation Stone.”
3. Blood “poured out” at the base of Altar; ran out side of mount into the river Kidron.
5.6 The Holiness Code (Lev 17-27)
1. Laws of Sacrifice (Lev 17)
a. All sacrifices must be brought to the Tabernacle to be offered (17:-9)
b. You shall not eat the Blood: “the life (nephesh)… is in the blood” (17:10-16)
c. “It is the blood that makes atonement, by reason of the life”
2. Laws of Sexual Relations: these “defile” both the People and the Land (Lev 18)
a. Prohibition of Canaanite Sexual Practices
b. Incest
c. Sex during Menstruation
d. Adultery
e. Infant Sacrifice
f. Homosexual Intercourse
g. Bestiality
3. Ritual and Moral Holiness (Lev 19)
a. Leave something for “the poor and the sojourner” (19:9-10)
b. Just wages: shall not “remain with you all night” (19:13)
c. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (19:18)
d. Prohibition of augury and witchcraft (19:26)
e. Prohibition of Self-Mutilation and Tatoos (19:27-28)
f. Honor for the Elderly (19:32)
g. Gentleness towards “Strangers”; “you shall love him as yourself” (19:34)
4. Penalties for Violations of Laws (Lev 20)
a. Cursing Father or Mother: death penalty (20:9)
b. Adultery: death penalty (20:10)
c. Homosexual Intercourse: death penalty (20:13)
d. Bestiality: death penalty (20:15-16)
e. Sibling Incest: excommunication (20:17)
5. The Holiness of Priests (Lev 21)
6. The Holiness of Liturgical Utensils (Lev 22)
7. The Liturgical Year (Lev 23)130
a. Sabbath: weekly feast (Shabbath)
b. Passover: annual memorial of exodus (Pesah)
c. Unleavened Bread: memorial of exodus (Mazzot)
d. First Fruits: the first “sheaf” (‘Omer)
e. Pentecost: seven weeks after first fruits (HbShebuoth, “Weeks”; Gk Pentecost)
f. Trumpets: a day of rest, proclaimed with “trumpets” (Shoferim)
g. Day of Atonement: day of “covering” of sins (Yom Kippur)
h. Booths: memorial of life in the desert, living in “Tabernacles” (Succoth)
8. The Tabernacle (Lev 24)
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a. The Perpetual Lampstand (24:-14)

b. The Golden Table of the Bread of the Presence (24:5-9)
9. Death Penalty for Blasphemy (24:10-23)
10. The Sabbatical Year and the Year of Jubilee (Lev 25)
11. Covenant Blessings for Obedience and Curses for Disobedience (Lev 26)
12. Votive Offerings (Lev 27)
6 The Book of Numbers
6.1 Israel at Mount Sinai (Num 1-10)
1. The Census of the First Israelite Generation (Num 1)
2. The Order of the Twelve Tribal Camps (Num 2)
3. The Levitical Priesthood (Num 3-4)
a. Aaron: High Priest
b. Sons of Aaron: “priests” (kohanim)
c. Other Levites: ministers of the Tabernacle
d. Levites and “first-born sons” (3:11-13)
e. Exclusive nature of priestly ministry (3:10, 38)
5. Confession of Sins (Num 5:1-15)
6. The Trial of the Adulterous Woman (Num 5:11-29)
7. The Law of the Nazirite Vow (Num 6)
a. No drinking of wine
b. No cutting of hair
c. No defilement with a corpse
8. The Aaronic Benediction (Num 6:22-26)
9. The Offerings of the Twelve Tribes for the Tabernacle (Num 7)
10. The Consecration of the Levites (Num 8)
a. Laying of Hands on the Levites
b. Laying of Hands on the Sacrifices
c. Purpose: “to make atonement for the sons of Israel” (8:19)
d. Levitical ministry: from 25-50 years of age (8:23-25)
11. The Passover at Mount Sinai (Num 9)
12. The Departure from Mount Sinai (Num 10)
6.2 The Journey from Sinai to Kadesh (Num 11-12)
1. Complaining about the Manna; the Quail and the plague (Num 11:1-15, 31-35)
2. The Seventy Elders of Israel (Num 11:16-29; cf. Luke 10)
3. The Rebellion of Aaron and Miriam (Num 12)
a. The Humility of Moses (12:3)
b. Leprosy: Miriam is “as one dead” (12:12)
6.3 Israel at Kadesh (Num 13-19)
1. The Spies sent into Canaan (Num 13)
2. The Rebellion of the Wilderness Generation (Num 14)
a. The Desire to “Go Back to Egypt” (14:3)
b. The Sentence of Death in the Wilderness (14:26-35; cf. 1 Cor 10)
3. Sacrificial Offerings (Num 15)
a. No Atonement for Deliberate Mortal Sin (15:27-31)
b. Tassels (Tzit-tzit): reminders of the commandments (15:37-41)
4. Korah’s Rebellion (Num 16)
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a. Levites desire “the priesthood” (16:10)

b. The priestly privilege of offering Incense (16:18, 40)
c. Aaron’s Censer and the power of the Priest (16:46-50; cf. Wis 18:20-29)
5. Aaron’s Staff the Sign of the Priesthood (Num 17)
6. The Priesthood: Duty and Privilege (Num 18)
a. The Priest shall “bear iniquity”; he is the ‘sin-bearer” (cf. Isaiah 52-53)
b. The Priesthood as a gift: “I give your priesthood as a gift” (18:7)
c. The Privilege to eat of the Sacrifices
d. The Priest has “no portion” or “inheritance” (Num 18:20; cf. John 13; Acts 8)
7. The Ceremony of the Red Heifer (Num 19)
6.4 The Journey from Kadesh to Moab (Num 20-21)
1. The Waters of Meribah: Moses strikes the Rock (Num 20)
a. Moses sentenced to die outside the Promised Land: Why?
b. The Death of Aaron
2. The Bronze Serpent (Num 21; cf. John 3)
3. The Journey to Moab (Num 21)
6.5 Israel at Moab (Num 22-36)
1. Balaam’s First Oracle (Num 22)
2. Balaam’s Second Oracle (Num 23)
3. Balaam’s Third Oracle (Num 24)
a. The Star shall Rise out of Jacob (24:17)
b. The king shall “crush the head” of Moab
4. Israel’s Sin at Baal-Peor (Num 25)
a. Priesthood of Phinehas, son of Aaron
b. What was the Sin of Zimri and Cozbi?135
5. Another Census of Israel (Num 26)
6. The Daughters of Zelophehad (Num 27)
7. The Liturgical Feasts (Num 28-29)
8. The Keeping of Vows (Num 30)
9. War against Midian (Num 31)
10. Conquest and Division of Trans-Jordan lands (Num 32)
11. Stages of Israel’s Journey from Egypt (Num 33)
12. Borders of the Land of Canaan (Num 34)
13. Cities for Levites, Cities of Refuge (Num 35)
14. The Inheritance of Married Women (Num 36)

6.6 Forty Years

The people must wander in the wilderness for forty years as a punishment for
their sin (Nm 13-14). They are encamped in the southern desert within easy reach of the
land. Scouts are sent on ahead to survey the land, which they do for forty days (13:25),
and to bring back a report of what they have seen. The land is described in glowing terms
(following with milk and honey, 13:27), but a more serious note is sounded. Some of the
inhabitants are large and imposing. The leaders, Celeb and Joshua, try to quiet the fears
of the people and urge them to go up now, but they are afraid. They refuse and rebel
against Moses and the leaders, and also against Yahweh. Their refusal to enter the land is
a serious failure to trust in Yahweh’s promise to give them the land.
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Yahweh is angry and threatens to wipe the people out. Moses again has to
intercede, using arguments reminiscent of Ex 32. A new element here is Moses’
quotation of Yahweh’s own self-description from Ex 34:6-7: “The Lord is slow to anger
and rich in kindness...” (Nm 14:18). Yahweh responds to Moses’ prayers; there is
forgiveness but also punishment and one that fits the crime. The present generation has
refused to enter the land; Yahweh refuses to allow them into the land. Instead, they must
wander forty years, one year for each day of the scouting (14:34).
The number forty is a very familiar one in the Bible. In the story of Noah and the
Flood, it rains forty days and forty nights (Gen 7:4, 12, 17; 8:6). After the sealing the
covenant, Moses is with God on the mountain for forty days and nights (Ex 24:18). It is
during this time of absence that the people get restless and make the golden calf (Ex 32).
After the covenant is renewed Moses once again spends forty days and nights with God
on the mountain (Ex 34:28). When Elijah is being pursued by Jezebel, he flees for his life
and travels forty days and nights until he comes to the mountain of God at Horeb (Sinai)
(1 Kgs 19:8). The number appears also in the New Testament. Jesus is tempted in the
desert for forty days and nights (Mt 4:1-11; Mk 1: 12-13; Lk 4:1-13); his ascension to
heaven occurs forty days after the resurrection (Acts 1:3).
Numbers in the Bible are often not meant to be taken literally, but serve a
symbolic function. Our suspicions are especially aroused with numbers that recur so
frequently. What would be the symbolic meaning of the number forty? On one level, it
represents a longer period of time. Here (Nm13-14), all the present generation over
twenty years old must die off (14:29). But there is more. The longer time has content: it is
a time of need, of struggle, of testing. In fact, there is also an extra-biblical occurrence in
just this sense. The Mesha (Moabite) inscription mentions how Moab (the kingdom just
east of the Jordan River) was oppressed “for years”.
In the Bible, however, a third level of meaning appears. “Forty” denotes a period
of preparation for some special action of the Lord; it is a time of grace. After the flood in
Genesis, a new creation begins; after Moses’ converse with God comes the renewal of the
covenant. After Elijah’s journey, God comes to him and enables him to return,
strengthened, to his prophetic ministry. In the New Testament, after the temptations,
Jesus begins the public ministry; after the ascension, we enter the age of the church. After
the Israelites wander in the wilderness, they will cross over at last to the promised Land.
6.7 The Wilderness
Since the time of the wandering is by and large symbolic time, what about the
place? Israel certainly knew the real wilderness, since that would describe fairly well the
regions to the south (Negav desert), the southwest (Sinai desert), and the east across the
Jordan. The desert is a place of no water and no food since little vegetation can grow
there. It is also the abode of dangerous animals; the jackal and the ostrich are particularly
beats of the wilderness, both of them noted also for their offensive noise (which makes
Job’s complaint all the more touching, Job 30:29, see also Isa 34:13; Mic 1:8; Lam 4:3,
etc.). the desert is a place of extremes where the choices are more clear-cut.
But the wilderness also carries symbolic meaning, a, meaning rooted ultimately in
the religion of Canaan. As we saw above, that religion centred on the concern of life,
central to which was the need for fresh water. Ba’al, the giver of the rain, was the most
important god in their pantheon. Ba’al’s second enemy, in addition to Yam (Sea), was
Mot (Death). Mot is the god of the hot, dry, barren wilderness, and of the hot, dry barren
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season, the summer. He swallows down Ba’al; the rain ceases; the earth seems to be
becoming all wilderness. The wilderness is a negative place where the power of
Mot/Death holds away. Of itself, it has no positive value. Even in the Old Testament, this
would seem to be the case. Previously, scholars thought that some few texts reflected a
“desert ideal”, but more recent study has brought this into question.
Sea/River (another name of Yam in the Canaanite religion) and Death/Wilderness
were the two big figures representing the forces opposed to the god of life and fertility. In
taking over both of these images, the Israelites were asserting that only their God was the
source of life and blessing. Yahweh brought them safely through Sea, guided and
nourished them in the Desert, the realm of Death, and, when they finally enter the land
(Josh 3:14-17), their crossing of river (the Jordan) is described in terms very reminiscent
of the crossing of the Sea (Ex 13-15). Neither Sea/ River nor Death / Desert was any real
threat; they need have no fear. Yahweh guided and preserved the people safely through
both. The same two images will be used to describe the totality of Jesus’ victory; there
will be no more sea or death (Rev 21: 1-4).
6.7.1 Wandering in the Wilderness:A Time of Journey
The wandering in the wilderness is not a time of aimless, pointless movement. It
is a journey with a beginning in Egypt (Ex 12:37; Nm 33:3-5) and an end in the plains of
Moab (Nm 22:1; 33:48-49). It progresses in orderly stages (“they set out from ....and
came to ....”) from Egypt to Sinai (Ex 23:37a; 13:20; 14:1-2; 15:22a; 16:1; 17:1a; 19:1-2)
and then moves on from Sinai to Moab (Nm 10:12; 20:1,22; 21:10-11; 22:1). A summary
of the itinerary in Nm 33 mentions forty sites, probably to correspond to the forty years.
Some form of the Hebrew verb for “to set out” (nasa’) occurs ninety\-four times in the
book of Numbers. There can be no doubt; the Israelites are on a journey.
Two temptations against the journey recur and have to be dealt with. The first is
the temptation simply to stop, to settle down, to say, “That’s enough! Let us stay here.” In
the course of the journey, the group did indeed rest. They do not seem to have travelled
on the Sabbath; in addition, there were periodic resting places the longest (almost one
year) being at Sinai. Another important resting spot is the oasis of Kadesh (or Kadesh-
Barnea, Nm 13:26; 20:1,16; Dt 1:46). But the time comes to get moving again, and they
do this “at the bidding of the Lord” (Nm 9:17-18; 10:11-13). This is, in fact, a marked
characteristic of the whole Pentateuch story. At the beginning, Abraham is comfortably
settled in his land and with his family. God says, “Get moving!” (Gen 12:1-4). Near the
end, in Deuteronomy, Moses recalls the departure from Sinai: God says, “You have
stayed long enough at this mountain. Leave here...” (Dt 1:6-7). At the “bidding of the
Lord”, the community is forbidden to settle down too long. A similar theme can be noted
in the New Testament accounts of Jesus’ Transfiguration (Mt 17:1-8; Mk 9:1-7: Lk 9:28-
36). The God of the Bible is a God who calls us continually out of secure and
comfortable presents into unknown and risky features. The journey continues.
In some ways, the second temptation is even worse. “And they complained to
Moses, Were there no burial places in Egypt that you had to bring us here to die in this
desert? Why did you do this to us? Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Did we not tell
you this in Egypt, when we said, ‘Leave us alone. Let us serve the Egyptians’? Far better
for us to be the slaves of the Egyptians than to die in the desert” (Ex 14:11-12). This is a
typical response of the Israelites in times of danger (e.g., Ex16:3; 17:3; Nm 14:2-3; 20:4-
5), or even in times of inconvenience (“We are tired of manna all the time! We wish we
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had a tastier diet, as we did in Egypt!” (Nm 11:4-5). “Why did you bring us out here to
die? We would rather be back in Egypt!”
They do not want to stop the journey; they want to reverse it. They want to go
back. Even though they have seen all the signs and wonders that God had worked on their
behalf, they wish they had never met and experienced Yahweh. They preferred the gods
of Egypt.
This second temptation is idolatrous, seductive (especially for religious people),
and very common. It is : nostalgia for the past. The past looks more attractive, more
secure, and safer. As well it ought! We have already been there; it holds no surprises; we
know what it is. What makes the past so attractive is precisely the fact that it is past, and
preferably, not too recent. “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Did we not tell you this
in Egypt, when we said, ‘Leave us alone. Let us serve the Egyptians...” (Ex 14:11-12).
That is not exactly what they had said when they were there (Ex2:23). We are indeed
supposed to remember the past. When we do this, in effect, we are bringing the past into
the present in order to help us live into the future. In nostalgia, on the other hand, we
want to bring the present into the past in order to avoid the future. And how often this is
justified by an appeal to the Bible! “Back to the Bible”, we hear, “back to the Bible!” Do
we ever hear, “Forward to the Bible?” When we go back to the Bible, what we find there
is a God who is always out ahead of us, calling us into the unknown, into the future.
We have looked at several general aspects of the wilderness wandering: the
symbolism of forty, the meaning of the wilderness, and the significance of the journey. It
is time now to look more closely at exactly what happened in the wilderness. We will see
that it is a place of covenant, of testing, and of presence.
6.7.8 Wilderness: Place of Covenant
We might well ask, Why did the Israelites wander at all? Could not God have led
them more directly into the promised land of Canaan? If God could defeat the Egyptians
at the sea, why not along the “way to the Philistines land” (Ex 13:17) that lay closer along
the northern shore? As we have already seen, the immediate goal of the Exodus was not
to enter the promised land, though this may have been the ultimate goal in the larger
picture. The immediate goal was “to serve me”. The people went south to Sinai and to
covenant.
The Israelites, newly freed from oppression in Egypt, were to go straight to
Canaan and assume power there, why would they be any different? Instead of Canaan,
they went to Sinai for an extended period of “attitude adjustment”. Covenant with
Yahweh, the God who frees from oppression, called them to a whole different view of
reality, a new set of values, and a totally different style of life. To live the covenant truly
is to worship only this God and to be concerned for the human rights and social needs of
others.
6.7.9 Wilderness: Place of Testing
The wilderness was also the place in which Israel was tested in its fidelity to
Yahweh, and repeatedly failed. This is often described as he “murmuring” or “rebellion”
in the wilderness, and it started right away. No sooner had Israel departed Egypt and
come to the sea, when they were afraid and longed to return to the “comforts” of Egypt
(Ex 14: 11- 12). They had already seen and experienced Yahweh’s concern for them
and power over Egypt in the plagues. But obviously, this was not enough; so Yahweh
delivered them at the sea. As soon as they set out, however, the complaining resumed(Ex
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15:22-17:15). As a study in contrast, we meet the pagan priest, Jethro, Moses’ father-in-
law. Unlike the Israelites, who had experienced God’s deeds personally, Jethro is shown
to believe in and respond to Yahweh based solely on reports he had heard (Ex 18:1-27).
At Sinai, under Moses’ guidance, the people reflected on the deeper significance of what
had happened, and affirmed and accepted this in their lives. But as soon as Moses was
gone “too long”, they fell away and made the golden calf. After the crisis of presence, the
covenant was renewed, but once again, no sooner had they set out from Sinai, than the
murmuring began anew (Nm 11-14). Finally, this generation went too far. Punished by
God, it will not enter the land; that will happen only after the forty years of wandering are
completed.
What is it that the Israelites murmured about? They are in the desert and have
nothing to drink; God provides them with wonderful water from the rock (Ex 15:22-25;
17:2-7; Nm 20:1-13). They have no food; in their hunger they pine for the “fleshpots” of
Egypt. The context, as well as the meaning of the Hebrew word, makes the meaning of
this quite clear. In Egypt they had pots of meat to eat. The association of “fleshpots” with
sexual sins has no basis in the text; it is an example of how the meaning of the English
word, “flesh”, has changed since the King James translation. God sends manna to feed
them. Later, they grow tired of the monotony of the manna, so God sends quail (Nm
11:1-35).
The Israelites also faced dangers of another kind. First came threats from enemies
without. The Egyptians attack at the sea (Ex 13:15); then the Amalekites (17:8-15; see
Nm 13:29; 14:45; Dt 27:17-19). Later they will face Arad (Nm 21:1-3), Sihon and Og
(Nm 21:21-35), the Midianites (Nm 25: 16-18; 31:1-54), and others (Nm 32:39-42). After
the departure from Sinai, internal struggles for power begin to emerge, struggles which
had the potential to tear the young community apart. The disputes centred especially on
the leadership of Moses and Aaron. The people wanted another leader, one who would
take them back to Egypt; Moses and Aaron were the prime forces reminding them of
their covenant and challenging them to fidelity (e.g., Nm 12:1-6; 14:1-4; 16:1-35).
The wilderness is a place of extremes, and choices are more clear cut. Food and
water are essential for physical survival; security from external threat and internal
stability are essential for social survival. These are legitimate needs and concern for them
is understandable, but in the biblical story, another element is added.
The presence of these various needs and dangers was the occasion for testing
Israel’s faith. Israel, both before and after Sinai, was a motley crew (Ex 12:38; Nm 11:4),
united only by having shared two experiences: Yahweh’s saving deeds in Egypt and at
the sea, and the covenant at Sinai.
Israel has had plenty of opportunity to see that Yahweh both could and did take
care of them; all the savings actions can be reduced to one: God is present with the
people, and this is their source of life and survival. When they set out from Sinai and
experienced the same kinds of needs again (some of the stories in Numbers seem to be
doublets of these in Exodus), they really should have known better. Their murmuring
then, coming after so much of God’s care, became especially tiresome and annoying.
Crying out to God in times of need and distress is lamentation, a common feature,
as we have seen of biblical prayer. Some of Israel’s cries to God are of this sort (e.g., Ex
15:22-25), but not many. “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? We wish we were back
there” is not lamentation; it is a wish that the Exodus (and later Sinai) had never
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happened. Lamentation is an expression of faith; murmuring is a failure of faith, a fact

which did not escape Yahweh’s notice.
At Sinai, the people had affirmed, “All that Yahweh has said, we will do” (Ex
24:3), and they were, presumably, sincere in this. But were they actually able to follow
through? Could they “unlearn” that quickly and easily all the values of their previous
life? Before going into the land, they had, then, an extensive period of probation. In this
period, the murmurings after Sinai are much more serious than those before. “This
generation shall not enter into the land” (Nm 14:29-30); they did not pass their test their
test very well. As strongly as we may say that we wand---and really intend--- to follow
God, many forces remain, within and without, to pull us away from God and push us
toward idols. It is always the most legitimate needs, e.g., food, water, defence, internal
order, which can become the biggest idols. When they do, they beget, like all idols, only
death. The wilderness was a place of testing.
6.7.10 Wilderness: Place of Presence
The wilderness was a place of threats to life and of death. Israel is tested to see if,
in fact, they will truly believe that Yahweh, a God of life, is present with them there. Was
their faith that strong?
In addition to their memory of God’s saving deeds in their behalf, Israel had
several other, more tangible and concrete symbols of Yahweh’s presence in their midst.
When Moses was “too long” on the mountain in converse with God, he had received
detailed instructions for the building of two objects, the Ark and the Tent (Ex 25-27).
After Israel’s sin and the ensuing crisis of presence was resolved (Ex 32-34), the two
objects were constructed according to the detailed plan (Ex 35:4-40:38).
The Ark was an ornate, portable, wooden box (the meaning of the Hebrew word).
Its original symbolism seems to have been that of a portable throne for Yahweh. Israel
was forbidden to make images of God (Ex20:4-5), so Yahweh was conceived as invisibly
present on the Ark. For example, when the people went out to war, Yahweh, on the Ark,
went before them (Nm 10:35-36). Along this same line, it has been suggested that the
Ark may have been used in worship services as a “portable Mt. Sinai”. Just as Yahweh
had been present there, with smoke and thunder (Ex 19:16-19), so Yahweh was present
on the Ark, surrounded by smoke (incense) and thunder (the blowing of the ram’s horn
trumpet; Ex 19:16, 19).
Another understanding of the Ark developed later. It was the place where the
tablets of the covenant law were preserved (Dt 10:1-9). This is reflected also in the
prescriptions of Exodus (25:16; 40:3). Because of this, it is called, at times, the Ark of the
Covenant, or the Ark of the Testimony (to the covenant).
The other symbol of Yahweh’s presence was the Tent, also called the Tabernacle.
It, too, was a portable shrine, set up outside the camp. There Moses would go to
encounter Yahweh, to seek an oracle, to discuss problems, to speak “face to face” with
God (Ex 33:11). For this reason, it is called at times, the Tent of Meeting.
Each of these objects reflected a theology of presence; the Ark, more God’s
presence to lead and fight for the people; the Tent, the place where Yahweh was present
for purposes of revelation. Some scholars believe that originally the two objects were
separate, perhaps deriving from different groups within Israel. Be that as it may, our
present text sees them as combined (Ex 25). At the beginning of Numbers, after the
census of the people, the tribes are to encamp, deployed around the Tent. When they are
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on the march, they are to continue to be each in its own proper place (Nm 2:17). Thus the
march through the wilderness took on the character of a solemn, liturgical procession.
Both Ark and Tent are visible reminders of the continuing presence of God in the midst
of the people. Whether encamped or on the march, they should not be afraid, because
Yahweh was with them.
Closely related to the Tent of Meeting is the image of “the glory of the Lord”
(e.g., Ex 16:10; 33:18; 40:34). This term is used also to describe God’s presence. The
imagery seems to have its roots, again, in the old Canaanite description of the appearance
of the storm god, wrapped in dark clouds and hurling lightning bolts. In a similar way,
the fiery glory of God is covered by a dark cloud. When the cloud is visible, Yahweh is
present, guiding the people (Ex 13:21-22), hiding them from the Egyptians (Ex 14:19,
24), entering into dialogue with Moses (when the cloud covers the Tent; Ex 33:9-10; Nm
12:5). When the people are to set out on their wilderness march, it is at the Lord’s
bidding, as signalled through the presence of the cloud (Nm 9:15-23).
Yahweh is a God present to and caring for Israel. This is, in fact, how the Bible
explains the meaning of the name Yahweh (EhyehasherEhyeh; Ex 3:14). Assisted by
these very concrete signs, the failure of Israel’s faith and their constant murmuring
becomes all the more serious.

7 The Book of Deuteronomy

The Israelites have been encamped in the plains of Moab; it is now
time to move on and enter the land. Before they do, however, Moses, in
three discourses (1:1-4:43; 4:44-28:69; 29-30), reviews their history and
reminds them of their covenant obligations.
The name, Deuteronomy, deriving from two Greek words which mean
“second law”, is based on a mistaken translation of Dt 17:18. There it is said
that the king should have a “copy of the law” to meditate on day and night.
The Greek translated this, “this second law”. The translator was influenced
perhaps by the present arrangement of the Pentateuch where the “first law”
is that found at Sinai (Ex 19-Nm 10); the “second law”, which at times
repeats material, especially from Ex 22-23, is that found collected here in
Deuteronomy.
It would be misleading, however, to think of Deuteronomy simply as
another law code. While the book does contain much legal material, this is
found in the context of speeches. Favourite expressions appear over and over
again; motivations are often given in the laws to explain them and urge
compliance. Whatever the case may be, Deuteronomy is often described as
“preached law”.
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Because of its great stress on the covenant and covenant loyalty,

Deuteronomy has also been described as “the covenant document par
excellence”. We noted earlier, in our discussion of covenant, that many
scholars see the Sinai covenant as reflecting, from the beginning, the model
of a suzerainty treaty type of covenant.
7.1 Moses Introductory Sermon on Plains of Moab (Deut 1-4)
1. Deuteronomy: based on the Greek title of the book in the Septuagint
a. “Second” (deuteros)
b. “Law” (nomos)
2. Setting of Deuteronomy:
a. On the plains of Moab, before crossing the Jordan River (1:1)
b. Moses “undertook to explain this law” (1:5)
3. Remembering Mount Horeb and Israel’s Refusal to Enter the Land (1)
a. Appointment of Heads of Tribes
b. Selection of Twelve Spies for Twelve Tribes (1:23)
c. “The LORD God bore you, as a man bears his son” (1:31)
4. Remembering the Years in the Wilderness (2)
a. Moses’ Prohibition from Entering the Land
5. Moses’ Commands to Remember the Law (4)
a. The Commands and Remembering Baal-peor (4:1-8)
b. The “Ten Words”: God’s “Covenant” at Horeb (4:13)
c. Prophecy of Idolatry, Exile, and Redemption (4:25-30)
7.2 Recapitulation of the Sinai Law (Deut 5-11)
1. The Ten Commandments (5)
2. The Shema: “Hear, O Israel” (6:1-4)
a. Monotheism: “the LORD is One”
b. Covenantal: “you shall love the LORD your God”
3. The Seven Nations of the Promised Land and the Threat of Idolatry (7:1-11)
4. The Testing in the Wilderness and the Temptation os of Wealth (8)
a. Purpose of Wilderness: to “humble” and “test” Israel
b. To teach Israel: “Man does not live by bread alone” (8:3)
c. Divine Pedagogy: “as a man disciplines his son, so God disciplines you” (8:5)
d. Consequences of being “Rebellious against the LORD” (9)
5. The Two New Tables (10:1-11)
6. The Essence of the Law (10:17-22; cf. Exod 34:6-9)
a. What does God require? Fear, love, and serve the LORD
b. The “Love” of God for his People
c. Circumcision of the Heart: “circumcise the foreskin of your heart” (10:16)
7. Deuteronomic Covenant: sealed on two mountains (11:26-32; cf. 27:1-8)
a. Mt. Gerizim: blessing (6 tribes)
b. Mt. Ebal: curse (6 tribes)
7.3 The Deuteronomic Laws (12-26)
1. Establishment of One Central Sanctuary (12:1-14)
a. All Sacrifices to be carried out in One Place
2. Dealing with False Prophets (13)
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3. Food Laws and Tithing (14)

4. The Sabbatical Year (15)
a. “The poor will never cease out of the land” (15:11)
b. Seventh Year Release of Hebrew Slaves (15:12-18)
5. The Israelite Liturgical Feasts (16)
6. The Mosaic ‘Inquisition’ (17:1-13)
7. Laws for the King (17:14-20)
8. The Levites: the LORD is their inheritance (18:1-8)
9. The New Moses: prophet “like Moses” (18:15-22)
10. Cities of Refuge (19)
11. Concerning Herem Warfare (20:1-20)
12. Various Laws (21-22)
a. Execution of the Rebellious Son (21:18-21)
b. Cursed is he who hangs on a Tree (21:22-23)
c. Against Transvestitism (22:5)
d. Penalty for Adultery (22:22-23)
e. Penalty for Fornication (22:28-29)
13. Usury Prohibited for Israelites, Permitted for Gentiles (23:19-20)
14. Permission to Divorce (24:1-4; cf. Matt 19:1-10)
15. Care for the Orphan, Widow, and Stranger (24:17-22)
16. Laws of Levirate Marriage: duty to a brother’s widow (24:5-10)
17. First fruits and Tithes (26)
7.4 Blessings and Curses (Deut 27-30)
1. The Covenant Ceremony (27)
2. Covenant Blessings and Curses (27)
3. Deuteronomic Law written on tablets at Mt. Ebal (27:1-8)
4. Blessings for Obedience (28)
5. Curses for Disobedience (28-29)
6. Deuteronomy is “another covenant”: in addition to Sinai (Deut 29:1)
7. Exhortation to Choose Life (30:1-4)
a. The Exile and Restoration of Israel
b. Two Choices: “Life” and “Death”; “choose life!”
7.5 Moses’ Farewell (Deut 31-34)
1. Deuteronomy: a “witness against” Israel; placed “beside” the Ark (31:24-29)
2. The Commissioning of Joshua (31:1-23)
3. The Song of Moses (31-32)
4. The Final Blessing of Moses (33)
5. The Death of Moses (34)
7.6 Capital Punishment in Deuteronomy:
1. False prophecy (Deut 13:1-6; 18:20-22)
2. Individual and Corporate Idolatry (Deut 13:7-18; 17:1-7)
3. Disregard for Priests (Deut 17:12)
4. Murder (Deut 19:11-13)
5. False Witness in Court (Deut 19:15-21)
6. Rebellious Son (Deut 21:18-21)
7. Fornication and Adultery: (Deut 22)
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8. Kidnapping (Deut 24:7)

9. Sabbath Breaking and origin of Tzit-tzit (Num 15;cf. Exod 31)
10. Which two commandments are missing from the list?

7.7 Hear, O Israel

“These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel....”! (1: 1).
Moses speaks; Israel is repeatedly called on to hear, to listen (e.g., 5:1; 6:4;
9:1: 27:9). A favourite term for Israel is “ the assembly of Yahweh”, in
Hebrew, the qahal of Yahweh(e.g., 5:19; 23:2-4,9). The root qahal, probably
related to the word qol, “voice”, means “to assemble, call together”. In the
Greek, it is often translated as ekklesia which has a similar meaning and
which is the source of the French and Spanish words for “church” (e’glise,
iglesia) and the English “ecclesiastic(al)”.
Moses exhorts Israel to hear/listen “with all your heart and all your
soul” (e.g., 30:2; 11:13, 13:4). In the Bible, the primary organ of hearing is
not the ear, though this is where the sound enters, but the heart. When God
offers to give Solomon whatever he requests, the king asks for “a listening
heart” (1 Kgs 3:9). When we turn away our hearts, we do not listen (Dt
30:17). Likewise, if our heart is hardened or “uncircumcised”, the word
cannot enter and take effect (e.g., 10:16; 30:6; Ps 95:8; Jer 4:4).
In our popular understanding, the heart is the seat of emotions; in the Bible it
is much more than that. The heart is the very centre of the person. The
“soul” (nephesh) is the whole, living, human person viewed, as it were, from
the inside. To hear/ listen with the heart and soul means that we allow the
word of God to enter deeply into our inner selves, to the very core of our
persons; as a result, we are changed.

7.8 Remember, Do Not Forget

They are to remember how Yahweh had led them out of Egypt (5:15;
6:12) and cared for them forty years in the wilderness (8:2), even though
they had rebelled (9:7).
Memory is a very important, even an essential part of our lives.
Memory gives us identity; it gives us a home; it enables us to know who we
are. Memory will never let us settle down and say, “Let us stay here; we
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have done enough!” as we noted when we remember, we bring the past into
the present in order to help us live in the future. It is one of the functions of
liturgy to make present the great events of the past so that each new
generation can share in them and appropriate them for itself.
7.9 The Lord is Our God, the Lord Alone
The most basic affirmation is that the Lord, Yahweh, alone is God. On
occasion we hear the formula the “The New Testament God is a God of
love; the Old Testament God is a God of wrath and punishment”. The whole
unfolding of Israel’s history with God is rooted in and flows out of God’s
prior love for Israel. It is the story of a God who first loved us.
7.10 You Shall Love the Lord
“Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with
all your soul, and with all your strength” (6:5).
The Lord’s electing love and Israel’s loving response find concrete
expression in the covenant. The covenant, which embodies the interpersonal
union between Yahweh and Israel, is not, as we have seen, just a reality from
the past.
Israel must not only beware of foreign gods and their cults. They must
also watch over their own worship to keep it pure and holy. The legislation
in Deuteronomy makes it clear that Israel’s worship should be centered in
that place which Yahweh chooses, where Yahweh’s name dwells, most
likely a reference to Jerusalem.
Because Israel is Yahweh’s people, how they treat others is also of
critical importance, so many of the laws of Deuteronomy touch on diverse
areas of social life. Deuteronomy is concerned with the establishment of a
society which will reflect the justice and mercy of God. “Love in
Deuteronomy is always a verb, an action, never simply an inner emotion”.
7.11 The Death of Moses, Servant of God
God is, of course, the dominant actor in the Pentateuch, but among
human figures, Moses is clearly the most important. More important than his
doing dramatic deeds is Moses’ role as a prophet. A prophet in the bible is
not primarily someone who foretells the future, as in our popular English
usage. A prophet is rather someone who is called to speak for God.
Moses’ call at the burning bush (Ex 3-4) shows striking similarities to
the call of a prophet. Like Jeremiah (Jer 1:4-8), he is called to bring a
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message which will not be well received; he registers objections why he

should be the one to do this; God turns these aside with the assurance that
“I will be with you” (Ex 3:12; Jer 1:8). And like a prophet confronting the
kings and leaders, Moses goes to Pharaoh.
Moses brings God’s word not only to the Egyptians, but also to the
Israelites. God gives the Israelites their Torah through Moses. In the great
speeches of Deuteronomy, Moses teaches the law to the peope (4:5, 14;
5:31; 6:1), challenging them to covenant fidelity and rebuking them for their
failures. God’s voice and Moses’ voice often blend together. Corresponding
to Moses who speaks God’s word is Israel, the qahal that listens, that hears.
Unfortunately, the people do not always listen. They also murmur and
rebel. When this happens, Moses exercises another prophetic function. As an
intermediary, the prophet speaks to the people on behalf of God; but at
times, the prophet must speak to God on behalf of the people. During the
wandering in the wilderness, the community came to Kadesh where the
people grumbled because they had no water (Nm 20:2-13).
That Moses is being punished is clear; exactly what the sin is, is not.
For some, the gift of water was a sign of God’s compassion; by rebuking the
people, Moses distorted the meaning of the gift.
Deuteronomy offers the other solution. “The Lord was angered
against me also on your account, and said, ‘Not even you shall enter
there...’” (Dt 1:37; 3:23-28; 4:21-22). In this, Moses is very like another
prophet, the suffering servant of Isa 53: 4-5, “Yet, it was our infirmities he
bore, our sufferings he endured... (he was) crushed for our sins”.
“So there in the land of Moab, Moses, the servant of the Lord died as the
Lord had said; and he was buried in the ravine opposite Beth- peor in the
land of Moab, but to this day no one knows the place of hiss burial” (Dt
34:5-6).
Conclusion
Encamped in the plains of the Moab, Israel is suspended in space and
time; they are between Egypt, Sinai and the past on the one hand, and
Canaan and the future, on the other. They are on the threshold of a new life.
If they are to have a future with a full life, they must be faithful to their
covenant with Yahweh.
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As we reach the end of Deuteronomy, we realize that these urgent

words of these Moses to the people are, in fact, his last words. And as
Moses’ life comes to an end, so does Deuteronomy and the whole Torah.
The people, in a real way, no longer need Moses. From now on, they will be
led by the living word of the Torah. Phrased differently, Moses may be dead
and buried (and who knows where?), but he continues to live and do his
work; he leads and guides the people; he communicates God’s will to them;
he challenges them to covenant fidelity in and through the Torah, God’s
word in the midst of the people.

The 3 Stages of the Mosaic Covenant

1. Sinaitic Covenant 2. Levitical Covenant 3. Deuteronomic Covenant

Priests: Moses, Aaron, 12 Priests: Moses, Aaron and Priests: Moses, Aaron and
Tribes of Israel, (Exod 12, Levites, (12 Tribes Sons, (Levites demoted),
19-20, 24). demoted), (Exod 32). (Num 25).

Law:10 Commandments Law:10 Commandments Law:10 Commandments

Book of the Exodus (Exod
20, 21-23)
Book of the Exodus Book of the Exodus
Book of Leviticus(Lev 1- Book of Leviticus(Lev 1-
27) 27)
Book of Deuteronomy
(Deut 1-34)

Sacred Place Mt. Sinai (Bottom) Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim
Mt. Sinai (Top) Tabernacle (Ex 34) Tabernacle
Tabernacle (Ex 24-27, 37- (Deut 11, 27-29; cf. Ex 15)
40)
Sign Sign Sign
12 Pillars 2 New Tablets 2 New Tablets
2 Tablets Ark of the Covenant Ark of the Covenant
Ark of the Covenant (Ex 34) Tablets of Deuteronomy
(Ex 20, 24-25 (Deut 27, 31)
Sacrifices/Sacred Meals Sacrifices/Sacred Meals Sacrifices/Sacred Meals
Passover, Theophanic Passover, Bread of Presence Passover, Bread of
Covenant Meal; General Levitical Sacrifices Presence
sacrifices 1. Burnt Offering Levitical sacrifices
(Exod 12-13, 24, 25) 2. Bread Offering 1. Burnt Offering
3. Peace Offering 2. Bread Offering
4. Sin Offering 3. Peace Offering
5. Guilt Offering 4. Sin Offering
(Leviticus 1-7, 11) 5. Guilt Offering
(Leviticus 1-7, 11)
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Old Testament Timeline

Creation to the Patriarchs
Creation-2000 B.C. Primeval History (Genesis 1-11)
ca. 2000 Abraham
ca. 2000-1800 Patriarchal period
Exodus to the Judges
ca. 1440 Moses and Exodus from Egypt (cf. 1 Kgs 6:1)
ca. 1400 Joshua and 12 Tribes arrive in Promised Land
ca. 1350-1050 Time of Judges (Samson, Gideon, etc.)
The United Kingdom
1050-1010 King Saul
1010-971 King David
970-931 King Solomon
966 Solomon begins building the Temple (1 Kgs 6:1)
The Divided Kingdom
931 Kingdom Divided:
a. Southern Kingdom: ‘Judah’
b. Northern Kingdom: ‘Israel’
722 Assyrian Exile: 10 Northern Tribes of Israel
586 Babylonian Exile:
a. 2 Southern Tribes of Judah
b. Destruction of Jerusalem Temple
Return from Exile
538 Edict of Cyrus: Judean Exiles Return
520-515 Rebuilding of Jerusalem Temple (Second Temple period)
445 Rebuilding of Jerusalem Walls
333 Greeks seize control of the Holy Land
Maccabean Period
167 Antiochus IV Epiphanes outlaws Judaism
164 Judah Maccabee rededicates Temple
63 Romans seize control of the Holy Land

Fr. Sebastian Kuttianickal

Diocese of Palai
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