LESSON ONE, PART II

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS

I. THE BOOK OF BEGINNNGS

    A. THE FOUNDATION OF HISTORY

    B. WHO WROTE GENESIS

    C. PRINCIPLES OF INTERPRETATION

    D. ANTICIPATION OF ETERNITY

REVIEW: “The Book of Genesis is no mere collection of myths and legends; it is the actual, factual record of real events and real people at the beginning of history.” 

The revelation of God to man was written over a period of 1,600 years by 40 different authors who were inspired by the Holy Spirit, and Genesis is the most important book in that revelation! Why? because it is the foundation of all of the other books of the Bible; without the Book of Genesis all of the other books of the Bible would not make sense. Without the Book of Genesis, it would be like building without a foundation, with no bridge to the other floors and without support. The Books of the Old Testament, concerning the chosen nation of Israel, would not make any sense without knowing what happened in the earlier chapters of Genesis. The New Testament, which is the revelation of God’s work in Christ for the redemption of man, cannot be understood without the revelation of the fall of man, and his need for redemption as revealed in the Book of Genesis!  

The Book of Genesis gives essential information concerning the origin or beginning of all things and therefore the meaning of all things, which without man could not know. The future is bound up in the past. A person’s belief concerning his origin will inevitably determine what he believes about his purpose and destiny. Man wants and needs to know where he came from, why he is here, and where he is going! Genesis answers those questions!

That brings us to letter B in our outline.

B. Who wrote Genesis? 

1. Moses as the Author

Most conservative scholars have accepted the view that Genesis was written by Moses. This has been the position of both the Jewish scribes and the Christian fathers. Genesis is the first book of what is known as the Pentateuch. The other books that follow are Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The five together are known as the “Law of Moses.” 

This is how Jesus viewed them. Luke 24:27 “And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He explained to them what was written in the scriptures concerning Himself.” And verse 44 “This is what I told you while I was with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the prophets and the Psalms.”

Believing then that Moses is the author of Genesis, the next question that needs to be answered is this: by what method did Moses receive it and then transmit it. There are three possibilities. 1.) He received it by direct revelation from God, either in the form of audible words spoken to Him by God which he then put down in his own words, being guided by the Holy Spirit. 2.) He received it by oral traditions, passed down over the centuries from father to son, which he then collected and wrote down, again being guided by the Holy Spirit. 3. He took actual written records of the past, collected them, and brought them together in a final form, as lead by the Holy Spirit. 

Any of these methods would be consistent with the doctrine of the verbal inspiration of scripture as revealed in the New Testament. II Peter 1:21 “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. “And II Timothy 3:16 “All scripture is given by the inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” 

The most likely method that Moses used was that he took actual written records from the past, collected them, and then put them together in their final form, as he was inspired and directed by the Holy Spirit.

It is interesting that although Genesis is quoted from or alluded to at least 200 times in the New Testament, not in any of these references is it ever stated that Moses was the actual author. Why is that significant? Because while Moses actually wrote the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, he was mainly used by God to compile the material in the Book of Genesis. But what about the inspiration of scripture? Simple. The Holy Spirit guided Moses in compiling and editing the information and revelation that God made available to him. God had a story to tell concerning the beginning of all things, and he inspired and used Moses to tell that story in Genesis. 

Let’s go a little further here. Moses compiled and edited the earlier written records from the line of the Patriarchs that had been handed down from father to son. That line would be Adam, Noah, Shem, Terah, and others who wrote down individual accounts of events that had occurred in his own lifetime, or of which he had direct knowledge of. These records were kept most likely on stone tablets in such a way that they would be preserved until the time that they finally came into Moses’ possession. He then selected those that were relevant to his own purpose as he was guided by the Holy Spirit. 

It’s also probable that these original documents used by Moses can be recognized by the phrase “these are the generations of . . .” The word generation is a translation of the Hebrew word “toledoth,” which means essentially “origins” or “records of origins.” 

There are eleven of these divisions marked off in the Book of Genesis:

1. “These are the generations of the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 2:4)

2. “This is the book of the generations of Adam” (Genesis 5:1)

3. “These are the generations of Noah” (Genesis 6:9)

4. “Now these ae the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth” (Genesis 10:1)

5. “These are the generations of Shem” (Genesis 11:10)

6. “Now these are the generations of Terah” (Genesis 11:27)

7. “Now these are the generations of Ishmael (Genesis 25:12)

8. “Now these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son” (Genesis 25:19)

9. “Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom” (Genesis 36:1)

10. “And these are the generations of Esau, the father of the Edomites in Mount Seir” (Genesis 36:9)

11. These are the generations of Jacob (Genesis 37:2)

To further understand how the Holy Spirit used Moses to compile the Book of Genesis, let’s take a closer look at the first two of these 11 divisions or records of origins.

1. “The generations of the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1-2:4)

This section, describing the initial Creation and the work of six days, has no human name attached to it, as the other ten sections or divisions, for the obvious reason that no man was present at the time the record happened. It must either have been written directly by God himself and then given to Adam, or else given by revelation to Adam, who then recorded it. 

2. “The book of the generations of Adam” (Genesis 2:4-5:11)

This section, written by Adam, describes the Garden of Eden, the temptation and fall, and the experiences of Cain and Abel. Adam was obviously the logical one to record this particular history. The use of the word “book” makes it clear that the earliest records were actually written down, and not simply handed down by word of mouth. For example, in the New Testament we read: “The Book of the generation of Jesus Christ” (Matthew 1:1)

CONCLUSION

Let’s pull it altogether and conclude for tonight. It is very likely that Genesis was written by actual eyewitnesses of the events of that time. The original narratives were recorded on tablets of stone or clay, a common practice in those times, and then handed down from father to son, and finally coming into the possession of Moses, a man chosen by God. Moses, then put together and edited the material he deemed necessary to tell God’s story. And this resulted in the Book of Genesis that we have today. God gave us exactly what we needed to know. I’m sure not everything that happened was included, but we have all we need to understand God’s eternal story and His plan for man. 

Even as John 21:25 says in the New Testament: “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”

Next week we will look at some principles of interpretation and how Genesis sets the table for the eternal. Then the following week we will get into Genesis 1:1-2, “The Creation of the world.”

Let’s pray.