What kind of God is portrayed in the Book of Genesis?

Answer 1

A:It is now generally known that The Bible uses different Hebrew names for God, chiefly YHWH, which is usually translated as Yahweh or Jehovah, and 'El, or variations of it. El was the West Semitic father of the gods, while Yahweh seems to have become the national God of the Israelites at a fairly early stage. Scholars such as Mark S. Smith (The Early History of God) say that Yahweh was originally a storm god, very similar to the god Baal, who was also worshipped by the early Israelites. Gradually, Yahweh attracted all the attributes of Baal, and the separate worship of Baal seems to have diminished. Even El (or Elohim) became identified with Yahweh over the centuries, as Judah's religious views seem to have become somewhat monolatrous in the late monarchy. The Book of Genesis was written during the middle of the first millennium BCE, largely based on myths and legends from earlier times. Its portrayal of God partly reflects the views held at the time its authors lived, shortly before, during and after the Babylonian Exile, but also the views of earlier times, creating a complex mixture of divine images.

Genesis chapters 1 (strictly speaking verses 1:1-2:4a) and 2 (2:4b-25) tell two different creation stories that come from two different sources and portray God very differently in each case.

The first creation story is attributed to the 'P Source' (Priestly Source) who wrote during the Babylonian Exile. The P Source used the names for God that his predecessors had also used, but showed a strong preference for the name El Shaddai ('God Almighty'). In the first chapter of Genesis, he really did portray God as almighty. He simply spoke things into existence. By creating the sun, moon and stars, he not only proved his powers over the universe, he proved that the sun god and moon god of ancient times were nothing at all. There is no suggestion here or anywhere else in the Priestly writings that God could ever be found walking on earth.

The second creation story is much older in Judaism, being attributed to the 'J Source' (Yahwist), writing around the ninth century BCE. In this story, there are limits to God's power. There is no suggestion he created the sun and stars, and the plants were already there but God had not caused it to rain and there was no one to till the ground (2:5). God could not make Adam out of nothing, but needed dirt of the ground to create his form and then breathe life into his nostrils (2:7). Similarly, God created every other living thing out of dirt (2:19). Eve is made out of the rib, or side, of Adam (2:21). So in this story, God forms things, rather than really creating them. We begin to see God as human-like, speaking to Adam, and in chapter 3, we find him walking in the garden in the cool of the day (3:8).

This view of God continues through to the story of Noah's Flood, when God decided to kill all living people, except Noah and his family. Unable to simply will the people dead, God had to send a great flood that killed all the people and all living things. He was a wrathful God, but also a merciful one, since he created a rainbow as a sign that he would never send another such flood again. Of course, we now know that the laws of science mean that rainbows existed since earliest times.

There are other minor images such as the divine beings who appeared to Abraham and to Lot, as well as the god who wrestled with Jacob. This story creates problems for the modern monotheistic view, resutling in a variety of explanations, often based on Jacob's opponent being an angel, although the original Hebrew word means 'god'. Jacob was left alone and wrestled with a man all night until the break of day, when the man said he must leave (Genesis 32:24ff). Even though his leg was dislocated, Jacob refused to let his opponent go unless he blessed Jacob. That the 'man' was a god is amply demonstrated - Jacob asked for his blessing, he had the prerogative of changing Jacob's name, Jacob's new name was Israel (generally assumed to mean "wrestled with God') and Jacob called the place Peniel ('the face of God') because he had seen God face to face. If the man who wrestled with Jacob was a god, then Jacob was also a god in the very early tradition behind this passage, as demonstrated by the fact that he was such an even match for his opponent. And if the opponent was a god, he was also a sun god - daybreak signalled the end of the contest, he had to leave Jacob before the sun could rise, then the sun rose upon Jacob. This was the daily struggle in which the sun god defeats the moon god at dawn. This tells us that Jacob was indeed the moon god in early times, but the story had evolved ambiguously by the time Genesis was first written down, to suit the story of Jacob as a human ancestor of the Israelites. There is a great deal of evidence that the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) were originally incarnations of the moon god, but as religious beliefs evolved they all became regarded as Israel's human ancestors.

Answer 2

The first two chapters of Genesis contain the two main biblical creation stories. The first creation story is attributed to the source now known as the Priestly source, while the second is attributed to the Yahwist.

Neither author attempted to portray God as all-powerful. In neither story is the earth created ex nihilo. In the first story, the waters already exist and a wind (spirit) blows across the surface of the deep; the dry land appears on day 3 when God separates the waters. In the second story, the land is pre-existing, but plants have not grown because God has yet to make it rain. Even Adam could not be made out of nothing - God needed to use dirt to create him. And God needed to take a rib from Adam in order to create Eve. This is consistent with the sequel, the story of the Flood, where God could not just destroy mankind by wishing it to be so, but must use the forces of nature to achieve his ends.

For more information, please visit: http://christianity.answers.com/theology/the-story-of-creation

Answer 3

1) God is omnipotent, since He created the universe from nothing (Exodus 20:11, Isaiah 40:28; Rashi commentary to Genesis 1:14; Maimonides' "Guide," 2:30). 2) God values that which is good, including light (Gen.1:2), fecundity (1:2, 28), family (2:23-24), beauty (2:9), and obedience to His will (2:17).

3) God's works are good (1:31).

4) God interacts with humans (Gen.ch.2). Therefore, he hears our prayers.

5) After the initial act of creation, God will usually prefer to work within the creation to do his will (2:6), rather than use open miracles that may abrogate the physical laws he created.

Note:

Rashi commentary (2:8) explains that Genesis ch.1 and 2 form a single set of events, as chapter 2 expands the brief verses of ch.1 with further detail.

An attempt to split the text artificially has been perpetrated by people such as Wellhausen (the father of modern Biblical-criticism, 1844-1918) who suggested attributing the narrative to various authors, despite the Torah's explicit statement as to its provenance (Exodus 24:12, Deuteronomy 31:24). Wellhausen's claims have been debunked one by one, as Archaeology and other disciplines have demonstrated the integrity of the Torah. No fragments have ever been found that would support his Documentary Hypothesis, which remains nothing more than an arbitrary claim, whose falsehood has been pointed out:

http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=6&article=1131(a Christian author)

http://www.whoreallywrotethebible.com/excerpts/chapter4-1.php

http://www.pearlmancta.com/BiblicalcriticswrongRShlomoCohen.htm

Answer 4

In the Book of Genesis, God is portrayed as the creator of the universe, full of power and authority. He is loving and merciful, yet also just and can be punishing when necessary. God is present throughout the narrative, interacting with and guiding various figures in the stories.