What concept of God emerges from Genesis?

Answer 1

The first message we should receive from Genesis about the nature of God is that he was not seen as all-powerful, in the way that he usually is today. In chapter 2, God could not make Adam out of nothing - he needed to use dirt to create him. And God needed to take a rib from Adam in order to create Eve. Then in the story of the Flood, God could not just destroy mankind by wishing it to be so, but must use the forces of nature to achieve his ends. When Genesis describes a character in the story of unrighteous, God does not punish that person, but reserves the right to punish one of his descendants. Then when a son or grandson suffers some loss, that is attributed to God's punishment for the sins of the father or grandfather.

The careful student of the Book of Genesis would notice that the nature of God changes from one passage to another. Sometimes he can walk and talk to humans, sometimes they can not look upon him, and he must appear in dreams or in fire. Sometimes he negotiates with people, but at other times he is stern and to be feared. This is because the Book of Genesis came from more than one main source, and each source had its own concept of God.

The Yahwist (J Source), representing the traditions of the southern kingdom of Judah, saw God (YHWH, or Yahweh) as anthropomorphic, with human characteristics. He made promises and covenants with his chosen people.

The Elohist (E Source), representing the traditions of the northern kingdom of Israel saw God (Elohim) as a more transcendent God who required obedience and was feared by his people. People could never look at the Elohist's God, so he typically came in dreams or visions, but sometimes in the form of a cloud or a flame.

The Priestly Source (P Source), representing a later, theocratic tradition, described a remote and unmerciful God.

Answer 2

The first message we should receive from Genesis about the nature of God is that he was not seen as all-powerful, in the way that he usually is today. In chapter 2, God could not make Adam out of nothing - he needed to use dirt to create him. And God needed to take a rib from Adam in order to create Eve. Then in the story of the Flood, God could not just destroy mankind by wishing it to be so, but must use the forces of nature to achieve his ends. When Genesis describes a character in the story of unrighteous, God does not punish that person, but reserves the right to punish one of his descendants. Then when a son or grandson suffers some loss, that is attributed to God's punishment for the sins of the father or grandfather.

The careful student of the Book of Genesis would notice that the nature of God changes from one passage to another. Sometimes he can walk and talk to humans, sometimes they can not look upon him, and he must appear in dreams or in fire. Sometimes he negotiates with people, but at other times he is stern and to be feared. This is because the Book of Genesis came from more than one main source, and each source had its own concept of God.

The Yahwist (J Source), representing the traditions of the southern kingdom of Judah, saw God (YHWH, or Yahweh) as anthropomorphic, with human characteristics. He made promises and covenants with his chosen people.

The Elohist (E Source), representing the traditions of the northern kingdom of Israel saw God (Elohim) as a more transcendent God who required obedience and was feared by his people. People could never look at the Elohist's God, so he typically came in dreams or visions, but sometimes in the form of a cloud or a flame.

The Priestly Source (P Source), representing a later, theocratic tradition, described a remote and unmerciful God.

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