Genesis as dialogue : a literary, historical, & theological commentary
Recent years have seen a remarkable surge in interest in the book of Genesis-the first book of the Bible, and a foundational text of Western culture. This commentary aims to offer a complete and accessible overview of Genesis from literary, theological, and historical standpoints. The author's work is organized around three main ideas: the first is that the primary subject of Genesis is human existence-while full of historical echoes, it is primarily a sophisticated portrayal of the progress and pitfalls of human life. His second thesis is that Genesis' basic organizational unity is binary, or diptych: building on older insights that Genesis is somehow dialogical, he argues that the entire book is composed of diptychs-accounts which, like some paintings, consist of two parts or panels. Finally, Brodie contends that many of Genesis' sources still exist, and can be identified and verified
Commentaries
1 online resource (xxxii, 579 pages)
9780198031642, 9786611943530, 0198031645, 6611943536
309345929
I. The text and its immediate context (Genesis-Kings, The primary history)
Genesis's unity
Further evidence of Genesis's unity
The quest for the theory behind the Diptychs
The Diptych structure: Original or redactional?
Genesis as part of a larger unity (the primary history, Genesis-Kings). II. Historical background
The historical and social background
Greco-Persian features
Verifiable sources
Toward directing the process of composition
Date, place, and people: A summary of key arguments. III. Genesis's content and meaning
Genesis's central concern
Genesis and history
Genesis and psychology
Genesis and spirituality
Genesis as a reflection of the complexity of life. IV. Beginnings
Creation and its harmony (1:1-2:24)
Sin and its disharmony: Crime and punishment (2:25-4:16)
Genealogies: From more disharmony to restoration (4:17-Chap. 5)
The Flood's creation: More sinful, more compassionate (6:1-9:17)
Noah's sons: The world's mixture of curse and blessing (9:18-Chap. 10)
failed tower and fading family: Life's fragmentation (Chap. 11). v. The story of Abraham
Abram journeys and sees the land (Chaps. 12-13)
War
and vision of a covenant (Chaps. 14-15)
Personal conflict, and vision of a deeper covenant (Chaps. 16-17)
Sodom: Generosity-based justice (18:1-19:29)
Abraham and Isaac among the nations (19:30-Chap. 21)
Facing death (Chaps. 22-23)
Rebekah, betrothal, and genealogy (24:1-25:18). VI. The story of Jacob
Isaac's Jacob-oriented journey (25:19-26:33)
Blessing and betrothal: Jacob deceives and is deceived (26:34-29:30)
Jacob's children and flocks (29:31-Chap. 30)
The long journey homeward (Chaps. 31-33)
From paralysis to pilgrimage (34:1-35:20)
Genealogies: Jacob declines and Esau prospers (35:21-37:1). VII. The story of Joseph
Prophecy and conversion (37:2-Chap. 38)
Joseph: The initiatory trials (Chaps. 39-40)
Remembering Joseph: His rise and the brothers' conversion (Chaps. 41-42)
Back to Egypt: The generosity that brings conversion
Joseph revealed: Vision-led recovery of relationship and land (45:1-47:11)
Amid famine and death: Life and blessing (47:12-Chap. 48)
Jacob's death and burial (Chaps. 49-50). Appendices:
Tracing sources: Toward clarifying the criteria for detecting sources
Sources: Genesis's use of the prophets
Sources: Genesis's use of Homer's Odyssey
Sources: The theory of four hypothetical documents (J, E, D, and P)
Landmarks in the development of literature: Toward a map of language, writing, and literature
The landscape and the lion: Genesis and the Gospels
Genesis in the Lectionaries
doi.org Full-text
doi.org Open E-Book - Unlimited Users at a Time
University of Alberta Access (Unlimited Concurrent Users)