NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible | Page 16

20  |  INTRODUCTION TO Genesis
forms one of the major theological emphases of the creation account. The Sabbath rest is built into
creation and forms the goal of world history from its beginning. Another reason for the seven days
may be connected with “the account of” in 2:4. While this term often precedes the genealogical lines,
it can also fall in the midst of longer accounts of individuals and their families. This is true in the
case of the last mention of this in Genesis, in the account of Jacob’s family line (37:2). Much of the
story has already been told. The same may be true of 2:4. How do the heaven and earth have a “fam-
ily line”? There are no parents or children, only the beginning of the human race. Using a metaphor
in which the sun and moon bring forth the earth would only confuse the reader in a strictly mono-
theistic world where these created things have no personhood and should not be worshiped. Instead,
the author may have used the sequence of days to parallel the sequences of generations in the later
family lines. Each day prepares for and gives way to the next day just as each generation prepares
for and gives way to the next generation. This emphasizes the logical development of God’s creation
more than it pinpoints the chronological development.
A second area concerns the expression “according to its/their kind(s).” This describes the plants
(1:11 – 12), the fish of the sea (1:21), the land creatures (1:24 – 25), and all these as well as the birds (7:14).
It is sometimes taken to mean that the text must describe exact reproduction and cannot allow for
the gradual development of various forms of species. However, in Ezek 47:10 this same phrase refers
to fish “of many kinds.” If that is the case in Genesis, then it does not emphasize limitation of each
life form to it specific species but emphasizes the diversity of each general life form: fish of many
kinds, land creatures of many kinds, etc.
The role of Adam and Eve as the first human couple appears in chs. 2 – 4. While some may argue
that these figures represent a symbolic or metaphoric story that has no relation to the early history
of humanity, they must address the explicit presentation of the Hebrew text. The syntax of the text
resembles that of later books such as 2 Kings, Ezra, and Nehemiah. All readers understand that the
authors of these books intended readers to accept them as history. The same should be true of a text
such as ch. 3. Indeed, this becomes the witness of the memories of Genesis in the later biblical text
(see Introduction: Genesis and History; Genesis and the New Testament).
GENESIS AND HISTORY
Modern journalism requires the testimony of independent sources to demonstrate the historical
reliability of a report. We are not often blessed with multiple witnesses for Genesis. Nevertheless,
evidence shows that the figures and events of chs. 12 – 50 fit into the world of the early second mil-
lennium BC and not a later time (see Introduction: Background and Author). If Gen 12 – 50 witnesses
an authentic and ancient heritage in places where they can be tested, what can one say about the
world of Genesis before Abram? As noted, some of the names in these genealogies are attested in the
earliest sources for names of the West Semitic peoples, of whom Abram and his family formed a part.
Further, the occurrence of a divinely sent flood with universal impact on the human race is also
preserved in some of the earliest texts recounting the primeval times (such as the eighteenth-
century BC Old Bab­ylonian Atrah̯ asis Epic). At times the detailed agreement of these accounts (see
also the story in the Old Bab­ylonian version of and in later versions of Gilgamesh) suggests more
than an independent witness to an ancient event. It may imply borrowing from a common source.
When we examine the account of the Sumerian King List from ca. 2000 BC, we find two important
features that Gen 1 – 11 also shares: (1) A flood ended the cities named from earlier times (cf. 4:17), but
survivors rebuilt cities after the flood. (2) The kings who ruled before the flood reigned for unusually
long periods of time, often more than 10,000 years. This may preserve a memory of the actual event
recorded in Gen 5, where those in Seth’s line each lived for hundreds of years.
Examples such as these demonstrate the historical value of the early chapters of Genesis. They
witness God’s ongoing presence and work among the people of the world, especially with the line of
promise as traced through Seth and Shem. But this does not mean it is possible