On the Subject of Authorship, Intent, and Structures of the Primeval History
A Reflection Paper on Primeval History (Genesis 1–11)
By Red Robregado (February 2021)
I truly enjoyed the lecture but I was a bit surprised that we did not tackle the authorship of the Primeval History and the Pentateuch as a whole. Authorship is important to establish the reliability and integrity of the Scripture, as well as the cultural context and intent of the writer.
Tradition regards Moses as the divinely inspired author of the Pentateuch. Although there are various shreds of evidence that support this claim including the Bible, Mosaic authorship remains debatable on the basis of textual, philological, literary criticisms, and historical dating.
More recent scholars believe that the history of creation had been transmitted by God to Adam, which was then persevered and passed down through generations, as it is during Noah’s time, and so on.
Recent advancements in Biblical scholarship made it possible to distinguish several account sources in Genesis, as in the rest of the Torah. Only two of these sources, the Yahwist and the Priestly, are evident in the Christian Primeval History. Even if the segments of the narratives were written by different sources at different times, they were woven together to form a single running narrative of Genesis as we have it today. Nonetheless, it is clear that the biblical writers, including Christ himself, believed in the integrity of Mosaic authorship and trustworthiness of Genesis 1–11 narratives.
Though deemed reliable, the Primeval History could not be treated as an exhaustive historical account, but a selective one, as it is impossible to cover several thousand years of history into 11 short chapters only. Possibly, God inspired Moses to select and arrange its content according to a particular structure for a purpose. This made me wonder what was the intent could be.
The Intent of the Text
Archeological research and historical studies have shown that many other groups in the Ancient Near East had already written accounts about the world’s origin even before Moses. In fact, modern theologians say that these literary accounts were widely known and available to Moses in his youth. As I look closely at the primeval accounts of other cultures such as the Atrahasis and Gilgamesh Epic, I couldn’t help but notice their similarities and differences with our primeval history’s themes and rhetorical structure.
So, God could have inspired Moses to arrange Genesis 1–11 as he did to reveal to them what He had done in the early years of world history as well as counter the propagating false beliefs with the truth. Hence, the resemblance of our creation narrative with other literary traditions was rather intentional to communicate truth in ways that early Israelites could understand.
Truth # 1: Monotheism Introduced
The book of Genesis begins by saying that there is only one true God, the Majestic Creator, who caused the entire cosmological existence in the beginning. There was no written toledot or genealogy of God, an attempt to account for His origins, or even a trace of a struggle against other gods (theomachy), all of which mark the Ancient Near East creation accounts. Celestial Bodies (such as Sun, Moon, stars) were also introduced as mere parts of God’s creation. This is extremely countercultural to the norms of the polytheistic ancient cultures. This separates our creation account from all others.
Truth # 2: Perfect Mingling of Transcendence and Immanence
Unlike many gods from other cultures, God’s mere word brought the universe, space, time, and all there is into existence. The Biblical creation account showcases the God that is very far above us in power, righteousness, wisdom, and splendor. And I truly love the reality that this Creator God who is beyond creation and unlike any other chooses to dwell/operate within the creation. Our transcendent God reveals His incommunicable attribute of immanence — personal, relational, presently hovering — right from the beginning. (Genesis 1:1–2, Genesis 2)
Literary Structures
In the beginning, the earth was formless and empty. So, during the first three days, God dealt with the fact that the earth was “formless.” He created space in order to give form, shape spheres or domains, and prepare habitats. He’s done it by dividing or separating one area from another (light and dark, water above and under, dry ground, and land vegetation). Afterward, God dealt with the world’s “emptiness” during the last three days by filling up the various domains he had created with inhabitants (celestial bodies, birds and sea creatures, land animals, and humankind).
There is a visible pattern of “Forming” and “Filling” in the creation, truly an intelligent design. The first three days of “forming” were followed by three consecutive days of “filling”. This pattern, however, is seen uniquely during the 7th day.
Sabbath as the climax of the Creation Narrative
As a decisive climactic act of His creation, God made Sabbath on the 7th day, and He made it holy. Humans are the pinnacle of creation, but the Sabbath is the culmination, completion, and apex of the Creation Narrative. God separated the light from darkness, the heavens from the waters, and the 7th day from the other six days. This is also evident in literary structure because, during the 7th day, God created/’formed’ time (He initially created/’formed’ space during the last six days) since Sabbath is not a thing or a place, but a moment in time, AND He ‘filled’ it with His presence and Holiness. Thus, Sabbath is unparalleled and unique because both ‘forming’ and ‘filling’ are in perfect fusion. No wonder why this day alone He sanctified. (Note: more to say and know about this topic)
Implicit and Explicit Expression of Divine Mercy
To prevent Adam and Eve from eating the fruit of the ‘Tree of Life’, God drove them out from the Garden Eden and it was since then guarded by cherubim and a flaming sword. This act, as mentioned by Professor Noli, was an act of God’s mercy and grace, and I couldn’t agree more!
Sin has clearly damaged the perfect relationships between God and man and between fellow human beings and we see this pattern all throughout the scriptures. From Genesis 3–11, we see the condition of the world descending into violence and evil — a downward, deepening, deadly spiral of sin.
But we also see God’s expression of grace and mercy time and time again. God intervening in history to avert the sinful intentions of men as we see powerfully evident through the continual contrast between the ungodly and godly line. God’s providence is seen all over the Primeval History and the Scriptures!
Though man is totally depraved in our nature, we are not absolutely depraved in the sense that God acts in history to restrain the sting of sin and wickedness of evil in us.
God’s Universal Redemptive Work
Creation was not accidental or arbitrary, but a deliberate act of God’s will. The intrinsic, God-given, God-willed value of the creation makes clear His intention of and plan for a Divine redemptive work. God is deeply and pervasively engaged in redeeming and restoring all of creation since the Fall.
In the Primeval Narratives, we can see that God’s redeeming work is beyond Israel and is universal in scope. Undoubtedly, this sets the tone for the rest of the Scripture. Without the Primeval History, the journey of the Patriarchs and the plots of Exodus would be difficult to follow. Moreover, it would be impossible to appreciate, comprehend Christ saving and redeeming work apart from this miraculous primeval account.
