Chapter 5 – Journey through Genesis

Genesis Chapter Five

(Note: Genesis chapter five is a genealogy, which is a family history. Genealogies were important in this culture, and because of that importance, accuracy was imperative. The genealogies throughout the Bible line up, and this accuracy testifies to the accuracy of the Bible. Not all biblical genealogies list the firstborn, but they do list those through whom The Promise came.)

1. Review and compare what the Cainites were known for (4:17,22) versus what the Sethites were known for (4:26). 
Cainites were shepherd people, city builders, tool makers. The Bible only lists worldly pursuits, no godly pursuits.
Sethites were people who “called on the name of the Lord.” They were godly. The Bible does not list any worldly pursuits. The Promise of Salvation would continue through the line of Seth.

2. Read Genesis 2:4 and Genesis 5:1. How does Moses organize the book of Genesis?
Moses uses the Hebrew word “toledothe” which means “to bear” and is translated as “generations.”  (Different English translations of the Bible may use words such as “account,” “history,” or “genealogy” in place of “generations.”) Moses uses the word “toledothe” to distinguish different sections. Genesis 5:1 begins a new section detailing the descendants of Adam who shared his spirit, who were faithful, through whom the promise would descend, in contrast to the wickedness of Cain and his descendants. 

3. How does one interpret the longevity of people in this genealogy?
It is to be interpreted literally. Notice the difference in lifespan before and after The Flood (see charts at end of entry).
There are a number of theories to account for the longevity of people at this time:

• The climate before the flood could have supported longer life; the size of animals in the fossil record certainly indicates a different climate capable of supporting unique animals.
• The human body, being so recently removed from its perfect state in the garden, and so close generationally to Adam and Eve, may have been less susceptible to degradation.
• Perhaps God simply made life longer for the first people to support the population of the earth.
• The Canopy Theory (The Creation Account describes God watering the earth through mist and by having water bubble up from the ground. Rain is not mentioned until The Flood. Some theorize that the cloud canopy was thicker before The Flood, blocking more harmful rays, allowing less damage on the human body. Once the first rain came in The Flood, the cloud canopy had thinned enough to allow more sun damage, thus lowering the lifespan of people.)

4. Could this genealogy be referring to clans?
Some speculate that the names in this genealogy are the names of clans rather than the names belonging to individuals. This theory does not makes sense. The statement of the age of each father when he begot a son does not allow for this theory. In addition, why would a listing of clans say a clan had “other sons and daughters”?  These names belonging to clans rather than individuals would also mean that an entire clan named Enoch was raptured as opposed to the one man named Enoch. The language makes sense only when we assume these names refer to individuals rather than groups of people.

5. What is the significance of Genesis 5:3? (Seth was “in (Adam’s) own likeness, after (Adam’s) image.”) 
God created man in His perfect image. Adam created man in imperfect image. We are still created in the image of God, but it is tainted by sinful nature.

6. What does it mean that Enoch “walked with God”?
A literal translation is appropriate here. We may presume that God still physically manifested himself upon the earth at this time, similar to His presence in the Garden. Take note of the preposition; elsewhere in scripture people walk before God, or after God, but only Enoch and Noah (Genesis 6:9) and the priests (Malachi 6:9) walk with God.
Enoch followed God’s will so closely that he was spared death. Enoch is one of two people in the Bible to be raptured.
Enoch was the seventh from Adam in Seth’s family. (Remember, seven is a significant number.) In contrast, Lamech was the seventh from Adam in Cain’s family. Lamech was an evil man who boasted about the murders he committed and started the first polygamous relationship.

Genealogy graph source: Lambert Dolphin’s Library

Life Span graph source: Christianity Stack Exchange

Note: My husband, DH, is teaching a weekly Bible study on the book of Genesis during his vicarage (internship). These are my notes from his classes. Questions, comments, and respectful debate are welcome.

DH has a B.A. in religious studies and biblical languages. 
I have a B.A. in English, history, and Lutheran education.

 

Chapter 4 – Journey through Genesis

Genesis Chapter Four

1. Did Eve think that she has given birth to the offspring promised in Genesis 3:15?
Genesis 4:1 says, “… She [Eve] said, ‘With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.”  This translation does not necessarily mean that Eve believes her son is the Savior. The grammar seems to indicate this is the correct translation.
Some scholars believe the verse is translated, “With the help of the Lord, I have brought forth the man.”  The use of the article “the” rather than “a” would show that Eve thought that specific son was the promised Savior recorded in Genesis 3:15. This may also explain why Abel, the second son, was given a name meaning, “vapor, breath,  vanity, nothingness, temporary.”

2. Compare the two offerings of Cain and Abel. Why was one acceptable and one not?
Abel brought his best. This is known because Abel brought a firstborn of his flock, and he brought the fat portions, which were most pleasing to God.
In comparison, the text does not say that Cain brought the firstfruits of his crop. It implies that Cain brought a thoughtless offering that was not his best.
The contrast between an offering between crops and livestock is not the focus. The Bible tells us that God accepted grain offerings.
Ultimately, God is not interested in the sacrifice itself, but in the heart of the person who is giving the offering.

3. Did God physically speak with Cain?
Some critics believe that when the Bible says God “spoke” with people after the Fall, it was a conversation all in the person’s mind. Since the text of Genesis is not symbolic but literal, it is best to interpret the entire text literally. The text says God spoke to Cain, and other sections of Scripture give examples of God manifesting Himself. Because of this, there is no reason to believe that God was not physically speaking with Cain.

4. Does God teach works righteousness (earned Salvation) in Genesis 4:7? (“If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”)
No. God is not focusing on the act of giving a good offering. If Cain has given a good offering, it would have represented his faith, and his faith would have been found acceptable to God.

5. Read 1 John 3:12 – “Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.”  What does this indicate about the curse in Genesis 3:15? (“I will put enmity [hostility] between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”)
There would be hatred between children of Satan, children of the world, and children of God. Believers have always been under persecution from the time of the Fall.

6. Read Psalm 116:15 – “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” What does this teach us about God?
It is not the death that is precious; God counts each life as precious. The word “precious” here does not mean “highly valued,” but it means, “carefully watched over.” God is closely involved with His creation. Another way of wording this verse is, “The Lord cares deeply when His loved ones die.” We see this in God’s reaction to the death of Abel.

7. Did Cain make a confession of sin to God?
Cain made an excuse. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” he asked in Genesis 4:9. Then Cain said in Genesis 4:13, “My punishment is more than I can bear.” The Hebrew word for “punishment” is generally the same word for “sin.” A few Bible translations record this verse to say, “My sin is more than I can bear.” The use of the word “sin” would indicate this to be a confession. Luther agreed with this translation. Most Bibles, however, use the word “punishment,” due to the context of the paragraph; in the next sentence, Cain does not talk about his sin, but his punishment.

8. Did God place a physical mark on Cain?
The Hebrew leaves room for interpretation whether the mark was a physical sign on Cain or a symbolic sign on behalf of Cain. The emphasis is not on what the mark was but on what the mark meant: God punished Cain, but He allowed Cain to live. He spared Cain.

9. Why did God preserve Cain?
God is gracious. He preserved Adam and Eve. He preserved Cain. He preserves us.

10. Why is the genealogy [family tree] important in Genesis 4:17-18?
God cares for His whole creation, enough to name them in His Word.

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Note: My husband, DH, is teaching a weekly Bible study on the book of Genesis during his vicarage (internship). These are my notes from his classes. Questions, comments, and respectful debate are welcome.

DH has a B.A. in religious studies and biblical languages. 
I have a B.A. in English, history, and Lutheran education.

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Chapter 3 – Journey through Genesis

Genesis Chapter Three

1. Who is the serpent?
The serpent is not a talking animal but Satan in the form of a serpent or a serpent possessed by Satan. We see this elsewhere in the Bible (John 8:44 refers to Satan as the “father of lies.” Revelation 12:9 says, “The old serpent, he that is called the Devil and Satan…”
Genesis says Satan is “crafty.” The Hebrew word for “crafty” is almost identical to its word for “naked.” Note that Adam and Eve, after obeying the serpent, noticed they were naked and felt shame.

2. Analyze Satan’s question, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden?'”
Satan knew the answer to this question was “No.” He was engaging Eve in conversation. He starts off his temptation subtly and creates doubt in Eve when asking, “Did God actually say…”.

3. Analyze Eve’s response in verse two, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will surely die.”
If we compare Eve’s response with God’s command recorded in Genesis 2:16-17, we see that Eve adds the phrase, “And you must not touch it.” This shows that she is already giving in to doubt, and she is focusing on the rule (you must not eat from this tree) rather than focusing on God’s graciousness, (you may eat from every tree in the garden except one).

4. Analyze Satan’s response, “You will certainly not die, because God knows that in the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will live as God, knowing good and evil.” 
Satan claims that God lies. Before, Satan was being subtle in his temptation; now, he is being blunt. Satan portrays God very negatively – that God is limiting man, that God is greedy. Satan takes elements of the truth (you will know good and evil) and twists them into a lie. A lie with some truth is easier to believe than a flat-out lie.

5. At what point did Adam and Eve sin?
Adam and Eve sinned when they lost faith in God’s words and trusted the serpent. The act of eating the fruit was the final expression of that sin. We sin in thought, word, and deed. Our actions give evidence of faith or lack of it.

6. Why was the forbidden tree created at all?
God created mankind to have a relationship with them. There is no relationship without free will. There is no real love if it is forced. God did not force mankind into sin; likewise, He did not force us to love Him. He did not doom us to hell, and He was not uncaring. He immediately promised a way for Salvation, and His Son is the Way.

7. What was Adam and Eve’s reaction to sin?
Their first reaction was shame, and they hid. The Concordia Self Study Bible’s note on Genesis 3:7 says, “No longer innocent like children, they had a new awareness of themselves.”
Next, when God confronted them, they lied and blamed. Eve blamed the serpent. Adam blamed Eve, and He blamed God. Already, sin is creating a domino effect and completely changing them.

8. Analyze Adam and Eve’s excuses when God confronted them.
Eve blamed the serpent. Adam blamed Eve, and He blamed God. Already, sin is creating a domino effect and completely changing them.

9. Did God curse the species of snakes, or did God curse Satan?
God did not curse all snakes; He cursed The Snake. Satan will crawl on his belly, and he will be on his belly when Christ defeats him. He will grovel in defeat and humiliation. God put enmity (hostility) between Satan, and the woman, and her offspring, and a woman’s offspring (Jesus) would conquer Satan.

10. How is Genesis 3:15 a Gospel Promise? (“And I [God] will put enmity between you [Satan] and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will crush your head, and you will strike His heel.”)
This verse – called the Protoevangelium (first Gospel) – is the first promise of a Savior, . Christ would be mortally wounded (the serpent striking the heal), but Christ would ultimately win Salvation for His people (crushing the serpents head). The Hebrew for “offspring” in this specific case is singular, meaning one specific person.

11. How does Adam show faith by naming his wife “Eve”?
The name “Eve” means “life.” Adam trusts the promise that life will come through her offspring.

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Note: My husband, DH, is teaching a weekly Bible study on the book of Genesis during his vicarage (internship). These are my notes from his classes. Questions, comments, and respectful debate are welcome.

DH has a B.A. in religious studies and biblical languages. 
I have a B.A. in English, history, and Lutheran education.

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Chapter 2 – Journey through Genesis

Genesis Chapter Two

Day Seven: God rested.

1. What significance lies in God’s rest on the seventh day?
God’s work was finished, it was complete, and it was good. God was not tired; He set the seventh day apart and made it holy. He created an example for us. We need to take a day off once a week to rest and focus on God.

2. How does the account in Genesis chapter two differ stylistically from Genesis chapter one?
Chapter two is much more specific and detailed. This does not mean that a different author wrote chapter one and chapter two. Just as you can write a summary and then a specific account, or switch between writing prose and poetry, so can Moses switch from writing a summary to writing with detail.

3. Genesis chapter one says vegetation was created on day three. Genesis 2:5 says, “… no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth, and there was no man to work the ground…” Does this create a conflict between chapters one and two?
No. Chapter one tells us that God created vegetation to fill the earth on day three. Chapter two tells us that man had not started cultivating the fields yet. Genesis 2:5 specifically mentions the fields.

4. How does the creation of man differ from the creation of animals?
Many people point out that the Bible says God breathed life into Adam at his creation, but this was not mentioned when God created the animals. However, Genesis 7:22 says animals also have the “breath of life,” so this is not a true distinction.
Many people have pointed out that God “created” the animals, but he “formed” man out of the dust of the earth. Yet, Genesis 2:19 says that animals were also “formed out of the ground.” So again, there is no distinction between man and animals concerning how they were created or formed.
One true distinction is that God gave man responsibility and authority over all of creation. The main distinction, however, is that God made man in His image.

5. What do we know about the image of God before The Fall based on verse 17?
Christians do not believe that the physical appearance of humans changed after The Fall. However, before The Fall, man’s will conformed to the will of God; they were in close communion. This is something we unfortunately no longer have. We also see that even before The Fall, being made in the image of God did not mean that God’s knowledge was passed on, since Adam and Eve did not have knowledge of good and evil until after The Fall. Unfortunately, today, we are well-acquainted with evil.

6. Explain how something can be “not good” in verse 18, despite “everything” being “very good.” (Genesis 2:18 – “The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”)
God was not yet done creating. There was an incompleteness. “Good” here does not refer to evil or to moral goodness, but to incompleteness.
This line of thought does bring up the questions: How could a perfect creation fall? Where did Satan come from? If God created Satan, why was Satan evil? God did create heaven and the angels, but He did not create evil. He did allow free will. Satan and his fallen angels chose to fall. Man chose to listen to Satan rather than God. Evil was created through these decisions, not God’s.

7. Is there any significance to man being created before woman? What does “a helper fit for him” mean?
Just as Christ is the head of men, and His relationship with His Church is like a marriage, so is the man the head of the family. Men, therefore, have the responsibility of being a spiritual leader. Woman, as a helper, has a complimentary role. This does not mean women have less value. There is a difference in role, not a difference in value. Women also share with men domination over creatures.

8. Did Adam name all the animals on the planet in one day?
Genesis says Adam only named the beasts of the field and the birds of the air. God brought the animals to Adam just as He would later bring them to Noah. Adam may have only named general species rather than all the sub-species. It is possible that Adam named them all on the sixth day.

9. Why is Eve being created out of Adam important?
This shows that Eve was also created in the image of God. It also shows that all of mankind came from Adam; the Bible often refers to Jesus as the “New Adam” since the redemption of all mankind comes from Christ.

10. How is marriage defined in verse 24? (“For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.”)
The original Hebrew says “man” and “woman.” There are no exceptions listed here for a homosexual marriage. Marriage was instituted by God to be between a man and a woman, a life-long intimate union established between two complimentary persons given the command to go forth and multiply and fill the earth.

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Note: My husband, DH, is teaching a weekly Bible study on the book of Genesis during his vicarage (internship). These are my notes from his classes. Questions, comments, and respectful debate are welcome.

DH has a B.A. in religious studies and biblical languages. 
I have a B.A. in English, history, and Lutheran education.

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Chapter 1 – Journey through Genesis

Note: My husband, DH, is teaching a weekly Bible study on the book of Genesis during his vicarage (internship). These are my notes from his classes. Questions, comments, and respectful debate are welcome.
DH has a B.A. in religious studies and biblical languages. 
I have a B.A. in English, history, and Lutheran education.

About the Book of Genesis:

Who? Moses is the author of Genesis. The first five books (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) are called the Pentateuch or Torah, which Moses authored through inspiration from God. Throughout the Bible, these books are referred to as “the books of Moses” or the “law of Moses.”

What? Genesis contains the history of creation, the history of God’s children, and ends with the death of Joseph.

Where? Genesis takes place in the Fertile Crescent / Mesopotamia.

When? Genesis covers the beginning of time to about 1808 B.C. It was written about 1446-1406 B.C. during the wilderness wanderings. A couple hundred years had passed between Joseph’s death and Moses’ life. The culture back then was focused on oral history, but written history had also been established. Joseph was an educated man who could have recorded history, and only four generations had passed between Adam and Joseph (Adam, Lamech, Shem, Jacob, Joseph).

Why? The purpose of Genesis is to give a context of the world we live in (a fallen creation that was originally perfect), to chronicle history, and – most importantly – to trace the promise of a Savior.

Genesis Chapter 1

Creation:

Day One: God created the heavens and the earth. Verse two says the earth was formless and empty. God created light and separated it from the darkness. Notice that light was created, but not the sun, moon, or stars. Other Bible verses often refer to Jesus as “the light of the world.” For Christians who believe God guided evolution, the fact that light was created before a light source creates a problem for the theory of theistic evolution.

Day Two: God separated the water from the sky.

Day Three: God separated the land from the sea. We have now had three days of separation. This separation shows that God is a God of order. The separation from the land and the sea is meaningful; think about all the other times in the Bible when land and sea were separated: the flood, the Red Sea, the Jordan. Think about how baptism is a new creation; it gives new life.
Also, we see that God created vegetation on the land this day.
The third day is the first time that God looked at His creation and called it “good.”

Day Four: Although light was created on the first day, God creates the source of light on the fourth day. He filled the sky with the sun, moon, and stars. Evolutionists and theistic evolutionists believe that once the stars and sun formed, it took millions of years for the light to even reach the earth. Once again, theistic evolutionists have trouble reconciling their beliefs with the account of creation, since it records a mature world created within six days.
Again, He called His creation “good” at the end of the fourth day.

Day Five: God filled the sea with sea animals, and He filled the air with birds. He called His creation “good.”

Day Six: God filled the land with land animals, and He called this creation “good.” God also created man on this day. Verses 25 and 26 says man is made in God’s image. Since verse 26 says, “male and female He created them,” we know Eve was created on the sixth day – the same day as Adam – even though we don’t learn the details of her creation until Chapter two. At the completion of creation, God says that it was very good.

(Day Seven will be covered in Chapter two.)

 1. How was the world created? 

The Bible says the world was created simply through the word of God. It was created from nothing.

2. What important characteristics of God are noticed in the creation account?

• God was not created; He always existed. The Concordia Self Study Bible states in a note on verse one that “the Bible always assumes, and never argues, God’s existence. Although everything else had a beginning, God has always been.”
• The Trinity (Father, Son, and Spirit) is present. Verse 2 says “the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” Verse 26 uses plural pronouns: “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness.” This is one of the first pieces of evidence in a God who is three persons, one essence. Verse 27 (the first piece of poetry in the Old Testament) describes the creation of man three times, emphasizing the Trinity. “So God created man in His own image / In the image of God He created them / Male and female He created them.”

3. How does the order of creation match up with evolutionary theory?
The Bible says that light and vegetation existed before the sun, moon, and stars. This does not align with evolutionary theory. Evolutionary theory also is based on the theory that life advances through deformities and death (survival of the fittest). Creation teaches that everything created was good. Lastly, evolution is based on chance and chaos. Creation is based on design and purpose. Therefore, evolution and creation do not align. Even more so, theistic evolution has too many conflictions between the Bible and the theory of evolution.

The chaos in evolution: Evolution teaches that chemicals and substances combined to create a great explosion, in which matter formed into the planets and stars. Tiny organisms were the first forms of life. Through a series of mutations, these simple organisms formed into more complex organisms. The normal, weaker organisms died off, but the mutated, stronger organisms survived. Over millions of years these organisms adapted to changing environment and also mutated to form different species.

The order in creation: The first three days of creation all involved forming. The last three days of creation all involved filling up what had been formed. Here is a table that helps to reveal a pattern in the order of creation (and is useful to help memorize the order of creation).  Notice that the columns correspond: Day one, the earth and sky were formed, and day four, the heavens were filled with the sun, moon, and stars. Day two, sky and water were formed, and day five, the sky and water were filled with sea creatures and birds. Day three, the land and sea was formed, along with vegetation, and day six, the land was filled with creatures.

 

Day 1: Forming heaven and earth light and dark	Day 2: Forming sky and water	Day 3: Forming land and sea vegetation
Day 4: Filling Sun, moon, stars	Day 5: Filling Sea creatures and birds	Day 6: Filling Land animals Man and woman

Evolution has chaos and chance, with life forming through a series of accidents. Creation has a clear order, design, and purpose.