Saturday 31 May 2008
Recurring themes in post-fall Genesis
Par Pierre, Saturday 31 May 2008 à 19:00 :: Bible
Instead of the usual detailed analysis of a chapter of the Bible, this week, I have decided to point out a few (insistingly) recurring themes in Genesis 3-50, and more specifically from Genesis 12 (though some themes appear from Genesis 3). Many translations of the Bible are available online here.
The most striking element is fear - from the Fall onwards, man is afraid. It starts off with fear from God in Genesis 3:9
And he said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself"
Afraid, not ashamed. And the same reaction follows, as a recurring pattern, until the end of Genesis: kings of different nations are afraid of Abram/Abraham's, Isaac's, Jacob's and Joseph's God. And with reason, if we look at what he did to Sodom and the surrounding cities in Genesis 19.
Another prominent theme is lie . The same story happens twice with Abimelech, with Abraham in Genesis 20, and then Genesis 26. Surprisingly enough, the lie is justified, not the reaction of Abimelech. More on this (hopefully) with the study of those two chapters. The lie (well, deceit) is also at the centre of Jacob's blessing by his father in Genesis 27. Again, even if the outcome of the lie might be regrettable, it does not appear as a sin in Genesis.
Lie, however, is never petty and always has a purpose, associated with fear. When Abraham and Isaac lie to Abimelech, it is for fear lest they should be killed, because ...
there is no fear of God at all in this place (Gen 20:11)
When Jacob lies, it is for fear lest he should not receive a blessing; and he is truly afraid of that. Similarly, when Laban lies to Jacob, it is for fear lest he should leave. If omission is a lie, however, Joseph's lies are the first in Genesis that are not driven by fear, when he omits to tell his brothers who he really is.
Thus, we have moved from fear of God to fear of other nations, to fear of one's family. Simultaneously, lies become less and less "justified". And the level of fear has dwindled. This may simply prefigure the new Pharaoh who will appear in Exodus.
Two other recurring motives are worth the mention. The first one is the importance of the generations - entire chapters are devoted to explaining genealogy. What is to be inferred from this, however, I do not know.
The other one, already mentioned in previous posts, is the importance of Naming. Every direct descendant of who can be called the "main protagonists" has an explanation for his name, as do several locations. Furthermore, following certain events, we have ocurrences of God renaming people. Thus, Abram becomes Abraham and Sarai Sarah in Genesis 17, and Jacob becomes Israel in Genesis 32. We can therefore expect the names to have a certain importance (as we will see in Exodus 3:13-15). Having a name is becoming fixed in a way, and has repercussions on one's life (see Jacob's blessing in Genesis 49).
Note I am aware these general comments do not cover the passages concerning Noah and Babel. They have their own, separate place, in the continuity of Genesis, on a theme that dries out sooner (that of wishing to become God).
Finally, I think it cannot be stressed enough how any translation is biased. There is not one original text - and whether the text comes from Greek, Hebrew, or the Dead Sea Scrolls, has an influence in the same way Chinese whispers work. Politics can be at work, subconsciously or not, and some euphemisms are found. The most famous one (and possibly most important to be aware of) is the meaning of to know in the Bible. As will transpire from the study of Genesis 4-5, it most probably implies sexual intercourse, which will have a certain importance to understand the historical and cultural implications of Genesis 19:5 (it is impressive what one single verse can do historically).
To finish on a lighter note this remark on translation euphemisms, I will quote Genesis 43:34 - translated as "And they drank and were merry with him", with a footnote explaining Hebrew has "And they drank and became intoxicated"!