The Biblical Account of Origins Journal of the Adventist Theological Society 141 Spring 2003 443 basic elements in the biblical account In the beginningthe when of origins Godthe ID: 565103
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Slide1
By Richard M. Davidson
The Biblical Account of Origins
Journal of the Adventist Theological Society
14/1 (Spring 2003) 4-43Slide2
basic elements in the biblical account
“In the beginning—the “
when
” of origins
“God”—the “
Who
” of
origins
“created”—the “
how
” of origins
“the heavens and the earth”—the “
what
” of originsSlide3
When
who how whatSlide4
Absolute or Relative Beginning?
When
who how whatSlide5
“When God began to create the heavens and the earth….”
NJPS , NAB, NRSV, NEB
”In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
KJV, NIV, NJB, NLT, NASB, NKJV, REB, RSV
Two major translations
Independent Clause
Dependent Clause
WHEN
--Absolute or Relative Beginning?Slide6
No creatio
ex nihilo
is mentioned.
Matter is already in existence when God begins to create.
No
absolute beginning is indicated.
Creatio
ex nihilo
is explicitly affirmed.
God exists before matter.
There
is an absolute beginning of time for the cosmos.
Two major translations
Independent Clause
Dependent Clause
WHEN
--Absolute or Relative Beginning?Slide7
Hebrew grammar and syntax
Short, stylistic structure matches rest of chapter
Theological thrust matches rest of chapter
All ancient versions use the independent clause
Allusion of John 1:1 to Genesis 1:1 (In the beginning)
WHEN
--Absolute or Relative Beginning?
Evidence
for independent clauseSlide8
Conclusion
—
absolute beginning
“I find the weight of evidence within Scripture decisive in pointing toward the traditional translation of Genesis 1:1 as an independent clause: ‘
In the beginning
God created the heavens and the earth.’”
WHEN
--Absolute or Relative Beginning?Slide9
When
who how whatSlide10
Literal or Non-Literal Beginning?
When
who how whatSlide11
Literary genre of Genesis 1-11 (historical narrative prose)
Literary structure of the book of Genesis (“generations”)
Specific temporal terms (evening and morning)
Interpretation by biblical writers and Jesus
WHEN
—Literal or Non-Literal Beginning?
Evidence
for literal
beginningSlide12
Conclusion
—
literal
Based upon the testimony of the Genesis account and later
intertextual
allusions to this account, I must join the host of scholars, ancient and modern—both critical and evangelical—who affirm the literal, historical nature of Genesis 1 and 2, with a literal creation week consisting of six historical, contiguous, creative, natural twenty-four-hour days, followed immediately by a literal twenty-four-hour seventh day, during which God rested, blessing and sanctifying the Sabbath as a memorial of creation.
WHEN
—Literal or Non-Literal Beginning?Slide13
When
who how whatSlide14
Multiple of Single Beginnings?
When
who how whatSlide15
Active gap theory
Gap between Gen 1:1 and 1:2
Satan ruled an originally perfect creation some unknown time ago, before his rebellion
Earth
became
chaotic because of
Satan’s experimentation
God’s judgment
WHEN
—Multiple or Single Beginning?Slide16
Active gap theory
Theory flounders on grammatical grounds
“The earth
was
without form and void”
Hebrew grammar leaves no room for this interpretation
WHEN
—Multiple or Single Beginning?Slide17
Conclusion
--
initial unformed unfilled
God is before all creation (v 1)
There is an absolute beginning of time (v 1)
When God creates the heavens and earth (v 1), at least the earth is at first unformed and unfilled (v 2)
God forms and fills the earth in six successive, literal, 24-hour days (v 3ff)
God rests on the 7
th
day, blessing and sanctifying it as a memorial of creation (2:1-4
)
WHEN
—Multiple or Single Beginning?Slide18
Genesis 1:1-2 go together
Gap
Genesis 1:3
Raw materials of the earth
were
created before—perhaps long before—the seven days of creation week
Genesis 1:1-2 are on day one
Raw materials are included in the first day of the seven-day creation week
when was the absolute beginning?
No Gap
Passive Gap
WHEN
—Multiple or Single Beginning?Slide19
Evidence
for passive gap
1. Beginning and ending pattern of each creation day:
“
And God said…
…and there was evening and there was morning
”
WHEN
—Multiple or Single Beginning?Slide20
Evidence
for passive gap
2. Difference between:
The dyad “heavens and earth”
(entire universe)
The triad “heaven, earth, and sea”
(earth’s three habitats)
WHEN
—Multiple or Single Beginning?Slide21
Evidence for
passive gap
3. The Hebrew word for “beginning” in
1:1, which refers to a
period or duration of time which falls before a series of events.
WHEN
—Multiple or Single Beginning?Slide22
Evidence for
passive gap
4. God’s creation by differentiating or separating previously-created materials
5. Two-stage creation process from raw material:
Forming Adam from clay
Forming Eve from Adam’s rib
WHEN
—Multiple or Single Beginning?Slide23
Genesis 1:1-2 go together but are separated from verse 3 by a gap
Raw materials of the earth in their unformed-unfilled state were created before—perhaps long before—the seven days of creation week
Genesis 1:1-2 are on day one
Raw materials are included in the first day of the seven-day creation week
either option possible
No Gap
Passive Gap
WHEN
—Multiple or Single Beginning?Slide24
When
who how whatSlide25
Recent or Remote Beginning?(thousands or millions of years)
When
who how whatSlide26
Evidence
for recent beginning
Chronogenealogies Genesis 5 and 11 give a continuous record from Adam to Abraham
In the OT, “begat” is the special causative form that always refers to actual direct physical offspring.
From Abraham to the present is clear from Scripture, and the total is only some 4000 (+/- 200 years)
Creation week unambiguously occurred
recently
WHEN
—Recent or Remote?Slide27
Evidence
for recent
beginning
Character of
God
It is totally out of character with the God of the Bible to allow a history of cruelty and pain to go on for long periods of time—millions of years—when it would serve no purpose in the cosmic controversy against Satan
The
genealogies, pointing to a recent creation, are a window into the heart of a loving, compassionate God
WHEN
—Recent or Remote?Slide28
When
who
how whatSlide29
two names for god
Two names for God appear in the Creation accounts:
Elohim
Generic, all-powerful One
Emphasizes transcendence
Yahweh
Covenant name
Emphasizes immanence
WHOSlide30
notice
No proof of God is provided, but the assertion of His existence is bold.
God is the ultimate foundation of reality.
The portrayal of God in the creation account provides a polemic against the ANE gods:
Polytheism
Moral decadence
Rivalry
Mortality
Pantheism
WHOSlide31
notice
4.
There are i
ntimations of the plurality of the Godhead:
“Spirit of God” in Genesis 1:2
The creative Word (ten times in Genesis 1)
“Let
us
” of Genesis 1:26
5
. It would be natural for the plurality of persons within the deity, whose character is one of covenant love, to wish to create other beings with whom He could share fellowship.
WHOSlide32
When who
how
whatSlide33
divinely
By
Divine
bara
Exclusively God’s action
Creating something totally new and effortlessly produced
HOWSlide34
divinely
By
Divine
bara
Exclusively God’s action
Creating something totally new and effortlessly produced
By
Divine Fiat
By the word of the Lord were the
heavens
made, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth…For He spoke and it was done; He commanded and it stood fast (Psalm 33:6, 9)
HOWSlide35
As a polemic
As a
polemic
against ideas in Mesopotamian creation texts:
Struggle between
dieties
Struggle with forces of chaos
Sexual activity between the gods
Worship of sun and moon
HOWSlide36
LuminariesBirds and fish
Animals and man
Light
Sky and waters separated
Dry land and vegetation
dramatically and aesthetically
Forming the unformed
Filling the unfilled
HOWSlide37
LuminariesBirds and fish
Animals and man
Light
Sky and waters separated
Dry land and vegetation
dramatically and aesthetically
Forming the unformed
Filling the unfilled
HOWSlide38
Luminaries
Birds and fish
Animals and man
Light
Sky and waters separated
Dry land and vegetation
dramatically and aesthetically
Forming the unformed
Filling the unfilled
HOWSlide39
LuminariesBirds and fish
Animals and man
Light
Sky and waters separated
Dry land and vegetation
dramatically and aesthetically
Forming the unformed
Filling the unfilled
HOWSlide40
Luminaries
Birds and fish
Animals and man
Light
Sky and waters separated
Dry land and vegetation
dramatically and aesthetically
Forming the unformed
Filling the unfilled
HOWSlide41
Luminaries
Birds and fish
Animals and man
Light
Sky and waters separated
Dry land and vegetation
dramatically and aesthetically
Forming the unformed
Filling the unfilled
HOWSlide42
LuminariesBirds and fish
Animals and man
Light
Sky and waters separated
Dry land and vegetation
dramatically and aesthetically
Forming the unformed
Filling the unfilled
HOWSlide43
When who how
whatSlide44
lights
One option: Sun not present till 4
th
day--God’s presence was the source of light the first 3 days
1:4 God divided the light from the darkness
1:18 luminaries divide the light from the darkness
Psalm 104—God described as covering Himself with light
Another option: Sun present but unused before 4th day
Became visible, given purpose, or became fully functional on day 4
Stars
Syntax does not require the creation of stars on day 4 (could be parenthetical)
WHATSlide45
Other issuesSlide46
two different accounts?
Beginning in 2:7, more detailed description of day 6
Focusing attention on humanity’s personal needsSlide47
Death/predation before sin?
Not only is there no death on this world before creation week, there is no life!
Genesis 1:1-2 make no room for living organisms to be present upon planet earth before creation week, let alone death and predation.Slide48
By Richard M. Davidson
Summary and Narration:
Carol Raney
The Biblical Account of Origins
Journal of the Adventist Theological Society
14/1 (Spring 2003) 4-43