Comments on: Genesis 1 – Creating a biblical context http://targuman.org/blog/2009/09/08/genesis-1-creating-a-biblical-context/ Translating my thoughts into words. Thu, 24 May 2012 10:34:36 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Chris Brady http://targuman.org/blog/2009/09/08/genesis-1-creating-a-biblical-context/comment-page-1/#comment-52874 Chris Brady Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:32:40 +0000 http://targuman.org/blog/?p=3293#comment-52874 Thanks Rameumptom. I am not sure I will spend any time on the 24 hour day other than to say יום is יום. There is no evidence to suggest that a "day" means anything other than the period of time we know of as a day. Now your second question is very interesting and I think I will consider some of those points in a future post but at the moment I would suggest that the 6 days are present in the story because of symmetry. Thanks Rameumptom. I am not sure I will spend any time on the 24 hour day other than to say יום is יום. There is no evidence to suggest that a “day” means anything other than the period of time we know of as a day.

Now your second question is very interesting and I think I will consider some of those points in a future post but at the moment I would suggest that the 6 days are present in the story because of symmetry.

]]> By: Rameumptom http://targuman.org/blog/2009/09/08/genesis-1-creating-a-biblical-context/comment-page-1/#comment-52866 Rameumptom Wed, 09 Sep 2009 13:22:18 +0000 http://targuman.org/blog/?p=3293#comment-52866 Two issues of context I'd like to see discussed are: 1. Why must the six days be 24 hours apiece, as some insist. 2. Why DID God take 6 days to create the earth? Why didn't he just speak and have it all instantly formed in one breath? Is there a cycle of creation that is necessary, or was God experimenting along the way? Is God omnipotent enough to create all things in one shot, or must he create a little at a time, because he isn't as omnipotent as some think? Two issues of context I’d like to see discussed are:

1. Why must the six days be 24 hours apiece, as some insist.

2. Why DID God take 6 days to create the earth? Why didn’t he just speak and have it all instantly formed in one breath? Is there a cycle of creation that is necessary, or was God experimenting along the way? Is God omnipotent enough to create all things in one shot, or must he create a little at a time, because he isn’t as omnipotent as some think?

]]> By: Chris Brady http://targuman.org/blog/2009/09/08/genesis-1-creating-a-biblical-context/comment-page-1/#comment-52859 Chris Brady Wed, 09 Sep 2009 04:33:35 +0000 http://targuman.org/blog/?p=3293#comment-52859 Thank you Daniel. I do realize that you were not presenting anything particularly new (your reference for a "traditional" post-exilic date kind of gave that away ;-)) but many of other scholars' reconstructions are not very well proven either. It is simply a lack of evidence. That being said, I am not arguing for a Mosaic authorship. Your post focused upon understanding context to aid our interpretation and I simply wanted to point out that with respect to these texts demonstrating context is highly problematic. We must find another path into the text. Thank you Daniel. I do realize that you were not presenting anything particularly new (your reference for a “traditional” post-exilic date kind of gave that away ;-) ) but many of other scholars’ reconstructions are not very well proven either. It is simply a lack of evidence. That being said, I am not arguing for a Mosaic authorship. Your post focused upon understanding context to aid our interpretation and I simply wanted to point out that with respect to these texts demonstrating context is highly problematic. We must find another path into the text.

]]> By: Daniel O. McClellan http://targuman.org/blog/2009/09/08/genesis-1-creating-a-biblical-context/comment-page-1/#comment-52857 Daniel O. McClellan Wed, 09 Sep 2009 03:31:32 +0000 http://targuman.org/blog/?p=3293#comment-52857 Hey, thanks for the response, Chris. Yeah, my perspective is definitely far from easily provable. I suppose it would rest on a slightly more solid foundation if I filled in all the gaps, but that's a big post. Much of it has been said several times before, though. Von Rad, Westermann, and Schmid a ways back, and David Carr, Stefan Paas, and Walter Brueggemann more recently, have posited similar ideas about the origins of these texts. I figured it was a bit of a tangent, though. I will zoom in a little more on a couple statements at a time in future posts. Thanks for the interesting discussion, and for keeping me honest. It is much appreciated. Hey, thanks for the response, Chris. Yeah, my perspective is definitely far from easily provable. I suppose it would rest on a slightly more solid foundation if I filled in all the gaps, but that’s a big post. Much of it has been said several times before, though. Von Rad, Westermann, and Schmid a ways back, and David Carr, Stefan Paas, and Walter Brueggemann more recently, have posited similar ideas about the origins of these texts. I figured it was a bit of a tangent, though. I will zoom in a little more on a couple statements at a time in future posts.

Thanks for the interesting discussion, and for keeping me honest. It is much appreciated.

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