Simmons TPT The Book of Genesis-Part 1

12-Lesson Study Guide
1. Auflage 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4245-6094-3
Verlag: BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 224 Seiten

Reihe: The Passionate Life Bible Study Series

The Book of Genesis shares the origin of all things, including the cosmic order of the universe and the covenant relationship between God and his people. It showcases God's redemptive heart toward the world-a theme that can be traced throughout the rest of the Hebrew Scriptures. This 12-lesson study guide on the first eleven chapters of Genesis provides a unique and welcoming opportunity to immerse yourself in God's precious Word as expressed in The Passion Translation®. Begin your journey with a thorough introduction that details the authorship of Genesis, date of composition, first recipients, setting, purpose, central message, and key themes. Each lesson then walks you through a portion from the book and includes features such as notable verses, historical and cultural background information, definitions of words and language, cross references to other books of the Bible, maps, and character portraits of figures from the Bible and church history.  Enrich your biblical understanding with the book of Genesis, experience God's love for you, and share his heart with others.  

DR. BRIAN SIMMONS is a passionate lover of God. After a dramatic conversion to Christ, Brian knew that God was calling him to go to the unreached people of the world and present the gospel of God's grace to all who would listen. With his wife, Candice, and their three children, he spent eight years in the tropical rain forest of the Darien Province of Panama as a church planter, translator, and consultant. Having been trained in linguistics and Bible translation principles, Brian assisted in the Paya-Kuna New Testament translation project. After his ministry overseas, Brian was instrumental in planting a thriving church in New England (U.S.) and currently travels full time as a speaker and Bible teacher. He is the lead translator of The Passion Translation®.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Simmons, Brian

Leseproben

LESSON 1

Genesis: The Book of Origins

Every story has a starting place, every life a beginning, every plot an opening narrative. History is no exception. All the major characters, events, inventions, lessons learned and lost…have an origin. The lone exception is God, who eternally lives above the changing universe and all it contains. In fact, he is the One who brought this universe into existence and inhabited it with living creatures. How do we know this? Genesis.

Genesis is the book of origins, given to us by God to reveal his work in creation and his involvement in history, especially in human history. Genesis gives us God’s perspective on such events as:

•the beginning of the universe

•the beginning of the earth

•the beginning of order in creation

•the beginning of life in creation

•the beginning of God’s self-revelation

•the beginning of humanity

•the beginning of humanity’s fellowship with God

•the beginning of marriage

•the beginning of God’s blessing upon humanity

•the beginning of Satan’s war against God on earth

•the beginning of human sin, death, and nature’s corruption

•the beginning of God’s plan to defeat evil and redeem the sin-ridden created order

•the beginning of marital discord

•the beginning of families and fractures

•the beginning of faith and doubt

•the beginning of human culture and civilization

•the beginning of the division of human language

•the beginning of God’s covenants with human beings

•the beginning of God’s love poured through and on creation, especially on humanity

All the beginnings that are the most important for us to know are provided in the inspired historical record of Genesis.

•

The Book’s Title

The Hebrew title of the book comes from the opening Hebrew phrase, , usually translated “in the beginning” or “when.” The English title, “Genesis,” comes from the Greek word , which appears in the Septuagint, the first Greek translation of the Old Testament. The Septuagint was commissioned during the middle of the third century BCE, and it was during this time that the Pentateuch (Genesis through Deuteronomy) was completely translated from Hebrew into Greek.2 The Greek word can be translated a number of ways, including “origin,” “birth,” “history of origin,” “genealogy,” or “account,” depending on the context in which the word appears (e.g., Genesis 2:4, “account”).3

Whether we go with the Hebrew or Greek title, the content of Genesis focuses on firsts or beginnings and then starts to trace their development in history. As you will discover, the historical accounts key in on the most important happenings—what and who matters the most in the revelation of God’s significant undertakings in earthly history. These are the people and events he wants us to know about in the stories of creation, paradise, the fall and its consequences, and his remedy for human rebellion.

•

•

•

Authorship

Genesis is the first book of the Torah, also referred to as the law or the Pentateuch. The other books of the Torah are Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Most likely the earliest division of the Hebrew Scriptures was twofold: the Torah and the Prophets (the latter including the rest of the Old Testament books). Eventually, however, the Jews divided the Hebrew Scriptures into three major sections: the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings.4

In Scripture, Moses and the Torah (or law) are often linked, which is why there’s a long-standing tradition that ascribes Moses as the author of Genesis.

•

•

•

   THE BACKSTORY

Moses was certainly suited for the task of writing Genesis and the rest of the Torah. Bible scholar Bruce K. Waltke states, “Moses’ superb training, exceptional spiritual gifts and divine call uniquely qualified him to compose the essential content and shape of Genesis and of the Pentateuch.” Among the many reasons Waltke and other scholars cite is the education Moses would have received “in Pharaoh’s court as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter (Ex. 2:1–10).”5 Acts tells us that “Moses was fully trained in the royal courts [of Egypt] and educated in the highest wisdom Egypt had to offer” (Acts 7:22). That would have included ready access to ancient Near Eastern myths that offered different and conflicting creation and flood stories and accounts of kings, gods, and religious practices that Genesis 1–11 counters.

Moses, in his training to become an Egyptian leader, would have also learned the law codes of his native land as well as the ones that likely influenced them. One of these, the Code of Hammurabi (ca. 1700 BCE), shows some resemblances to the Book of the Covenant (Exodus 20:22–23:19), and “Deuteronomy has formal similarities with Hittite suzerainty treaties (1400–1250) at the time of Moses.”6

Also, Waltke points out that:

As the greatest of Israel’s prophets, Moses would also have had the ability to draw upon God’s omniscience and omnipresence in the retelling of Israel’s historical traditions (cf. Num. 11:25; Deut. 34:10–11). With his extraordinary gift, confirmed by his spectacular signs and wonders, he was eminently qualified to usher his audience into the heavenly court at the time God created the cosmos (Gen. 1) and to reveal what the Almighty and other humans thought, felt, and intended (6:6, 8; 13:13; 25:34b).7

Finally, the author of Genesis and the rest of the Torah shows a great deal of knowledge about Egypt and Sinai, knowledge best acquired by someone like Moses who lived and traveled in those areas. Old Testament scholar Gleason L. Archer Jr. recounts some of this evidence, which includes:

•“Eyewitness details…in the account of the Exodus which suggest an actual participant in the events…For example, in Ex. 15:27 the narrator recalls the exact number of fountains (twelve) and of palm trees (seventy) at Elim”—a place in Sinai.

•“The author of Genesis and Exodus…is familiar with Egyptian names,” such as the native name for Heliopolis and Pithom and “the special title of honor bestowed on Joseph by Pharaoh” in Genesis 41:45.

•The ancient author “also uses a greater percentage of Egyptian words than elsewhere in the Old Testament.”

•The Genesis writer also uses “a large number of idioms and turns of speech that are characteristically Egyptian in origin, even though translated into Hebrew.”

•“The titles of the [Egyptian] court officials, the polite language used in the interviews with Pharaoh, and the like are all…true to Egyptian usage.”

•“The seasons and the weather referred to in the [Torah] narrative are Egyptian, not Palestinian.”

•“The flora and fauna referred to are Egyptian or Sinaitic, never distinctively Palestinian.”

•“The lists of clean and unclean birds and animals contained in Lev. 11 and Deut. 14 include some which are peculiar to Sinai…but none of which are peculiar to Canaan.”

•“Both Egypt and Sinai are very familiar to the author from the standpoint of geography. The narrative of the Exodus route is filled with authentic local references that have been verified by modern archaeology.”8

In short, Moses had the education, the knowledge, the skills, the experience, and so much more to accomplish all that God had for him to do, including writing Genesis and the rest of the Torah while leading God’s...