Building Bible Literacy: Foundations for Reading and Understanding Scripture

Have you ever felt as though life has you stuck on the edge of a cliff? Like one wrong move and it would all be over? Joseph definitely did!

Photo from Crater Lake (August 2007)

Jacob is not the type of example you want to follow for a happy marriage…

Let me tell you about a guy named Isaac: His father loved him...and almost murdered him. Later, Isaac had kids...but his first born was his favorite. Oh and his wife had a favorite too...but it was the other one. And he was more tricky.

Genesis has more drama than any Oscar winner could have. Let's take a look!

God chooses a family who will be his own. It's clear they're far from perfect but they're still the recipients of a promise that will shape the rest of the Bible. Just further proof that grace—not one’s own merits—is what drives God’s plan.

Bibliography:

Cassuto, U. "The Documentary Hypothesis and the Composition of the Pentateuch: Eight Lectures."

Translated by Israel Abrahams. Jerusalem: The Hebrew University, pp xii-117

From Cain and Abel to the Tower of Babel, the first 11 chapters of Genesis shows the growth of sin and how sticky it is. What can be done when nothing, not even a flood or global dispersion, seems to be able to fix it!

Genesis opens with a claim that shapes everything else in the Bible. Before debates about science or timelines, Scripture establishes who God is and who we are.

Why does context matter? Can't you just read the Bible and not worry about all that extra stuff?

So what's this all about anyways?