Gleanings from Genesis
Over the years I have come to the view that the books of Genesis, Deuteronomy, and Isaiah are the most fundamental to a summary expression of the Hebrew faith as it unfolded and developed over time, from Moses through the Exiles. Of these three however, Genesis seems to be the most foundational in terms of reflecting the key concepts of the Hebrew view of life. Here are a few basic “gleanings” from just the first eleven chapters, before the narrative picks up with the story of “one man’s family,” namely Abraham and his descendants.
1. That the creation is considered to be good, good, good, good, good, good, and VERY good! There is no sense that this world is a dark place into which we have fallen, but a lovely world of light and life to celebrate.
2. That the sun and the moon are given to mark off our sacred times (appointments), days, months, seasons, and years–and observed sacred calendar visible to the entire world.
3. That human beings are made in the “likeness and image” of Elohim, every bit as much as our children/offspring are in our “likeness and image,” and that male and female TOGETHER make up the ADAM or “Humankind.” The male alone is incomplete, as is the female alone. Thus Elohim is also reflective of male/female qualities. So it is not so much a matter of human making Gods in their own image, as projections of themselves, but that the true God made humans to reflect and carry the divine image on a microcosmic level.
4. The the first commandment is to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth, thus putting a divine blessing on human sexuality, family, and life rather than the negative values of celibacy and deprivation for some future “heavenly world,” as became common in all Western and Eastern religions. L’Chaim! To Life!
5. That humans are put in charge of the stewardship of the good earth, we are all to be good managers, and to dress and keep it, as Adam began to do in his little assigned area in Eden. Here we get the entire foundation of ecology, an area of concern that has just come of age in our own day.
6. That humans are given the ideal diet of every plant yielding seed and tree bearing fruit whose seed is within–this is the diet Daniel asked to have (Daniel 1:12) as opposed to the Babylonian court diet of his day–it is called there zero’im–of the seeds. Cultures that follow this (see Robbins’ classic book, Diet for a New America, as well as his latest, Healthy at 100) are free from heart disease, strokes, various forms of cancer, diabetes, arthritis, Alzheimer’s, etc.
7. That the seventh day Sabbath is for all humankind, a memorial of creation, binding us to past, to one another, and to our Creator. Imagine a world (Isa 66!) in which from Sabbath to Sabbath and New Moon to New Moon the entire world focuses upon the Creator and our common human ties through creation.
8. That the “knowledge of good and evil” (coming of age, Deuteronomy 1:39) is a necessary part of our development as beings in the image of the Elohim, but with it comes freedom and responsibility and the full possibilities of choice as God-like beings, not merely children of innocence–the possibility of infinite good, but also tragic evil, as unlimited knowledge can lead to “nothing being impossible for them” in both areas of good and evil.
9. That the ‘Ish (man) needs the ‘Isha (woman) to be complete and is restless and unhappy until the “two become one,” which, combined with “leaving father and mother,” becomes the only definition of “marriage” in the Bible. The ‘Isha is a partner to the ‘Ish, “corresponding to him,” meaning opposite him as a lock to a key, as a glove to a hand.
10. That life outside Eden (innocence) is a life of toil (strain, sorrow, hardship) for both the man and the woman, each in their own spheres. The same word is used (‘itzbon) for both.
11. That jealousy and human self-centeredness can lead quickly to even murder of a brother and the breakup and fracture of families and clans leading to wars and all sorts of cultural divisions and violence.
12. That the children of Cain and the children of Seth went their separate ways and have reflected down through history very separate paths and outcomes and the production of almost opposite cultures.
13. That the children of Seth kept the vision alive and “walked with God,” as evidenced by Enoch and culminating in Noah, who was “righteous in his generations.” I understand this lineage to be the “children of the Elohim” of Genesis 6, contrary to later Jewish tradition that makes these heavenly beings.
14. That human departure from God into the “way of Cain,” led to all kinds of violence (presumably toward animals and other humans) and corruption in the earth, so much so that “every thought of the imagination of the heart was only evil continually,” and the flood was the only solution to try and preserve once again the line of Noah, who was righteous in his generations.
15. That Noah and his sons were given a new covenant, reflected in the later tradition of the “Seven mitzvot of the sons of Noach,” and sealed with the rainbow. The eating of the flesh of animals was allowed provided they were slaughtered properly and the blood removed. The sanctity of life was particularly emphasized.
16. Of the three sons of Noah the line of Ham began to go in a different direction, first with a sexual act with his father and then leading to Nimrod and the building of war machines and great Kingdoms that sought to conquer, culminating in the tower of Babel.
17. Hope remained in the line of Seth through Noah and Shem and down to Abram, in whom God recognized the potential to preserve the world and put things back on track–thus the Plan and the Project implied in Abraham’s calling.
And the rest of the Hebrew Bible, beginning in Genesis 12, is that unfolding story of “one man’s family” and its divine calling to bring all nations back to the knowledge of the Creator…
JDT