In reading Genesis I was struck by how rich it was in story and yet how scarce it was in explanation. If you look at it from a standpoint of Literary Criticism and see God as the protagonist it is the story of, in my eyes, a God who learns that our creations are not always in our control.
"In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters." (Gen:1.2)
Something that I find fascinating about this is that the logic amongst most of the Christians I know is that God is the creator of ALL things. However, it clearly says here that when God created the earth there was water.
I also find this passage beautiful. Water is something that every living thing needs to survive, it is absolutely essential to our existence and it is something we drink every day (at least for those of us who are fortunate) often without taking the time to notice it's importance. Babies are born with water making up nearly 78% of them.
Fun fact: "Earth is a feminine noun in Hebrew." (New Oxford Annotated Bible, 4th ed.)
- This fact I feel is important to note since the role of women in The Bible is controversial.
"Then God said, 'Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness..." (Gen:1.26)
This passage suggests, from God's own words, that God is amongst others and that God is going to make humankind in their image.
Christian's believe that there is only one supreme God. I asked many people what their opinion was on this passage and most of them responded with "God is talking about the holy trinity". However, it doesn't say anything about the "Holy Trinity" anywhere in Genesis. And since The Bible means "a collection of books", and since each book comes from a variety of sources we have to look at them, in my mind, as individual texts.
If you look at it from a stance of literary criticism, you have to wonder who is God speaking to all this time? Whenever God speaks, who is the immediate audience?
Another inconsistency which could be blamed on the various sources used to create Genesis is that there are two creation stories.
EVE AND THE SERPENT
This is probably my favorite part of Genesis. Before reading this verse it's important to note that "Snakes were a symbol in the ancient world of wisdom, fertility, and immortality. Only later was the snake in this story seen by interpreters as the devil." (New Oxford Annotated Bible, 4th ed.)
"The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, 'You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.'" (Gen:2.15-17)
"Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God say, 'You shall not eat from any tree in the garden'?" The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die'." But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves." (Gen:3.1 - 7)
1) It is often said that the serpent is Satan but it does not say that anywhere in Genesis.
2) It is often said that the serpent deceived Eve but if we look at the first verse it is God who deceived Adam and it is the serpent who told the truth. God said they would die and the serpent told them that you will not die and God knows you will not die.
3) God brings Adam to the garden of eden to "till it and keep it" then tells him he cannot eat from the tree of "knowledge". This might be a stretch but it reminded me of slavery. Americans brought people to America, enslaved them, and denied them education. Just an association I made, nothing more.
I see this as a story of two children growing up, losing their innocence, and being forced to leave "the nest" or "the garden". The parent, "God", lied to them in order to protect them. But in the end God could not protect them from the inevitable; knowledge.
"But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" He said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate." Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent tricked me, and I ate."" (Gen:3.9- 13)
This passage is humorous to me because no one takes responsibility for their actions. God does not address the fact that he lied to Adam and Eve. Adam blames Eve who blames the serpent and because God has power it is the three of them who get punished.
Below is a link to a song that dramatizes Eve eating the fruit. It's from Children of Eden the musical by Stephen Schwartz:
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