Shadowland: Beginnings

Shadowland: Beginnings: Week 1

Did Moses write Genesis?

There is much scholarly debate about this, based on frequency of words in different sections. There is excellent technical evidence that Moses was the editor at least, but if you are willing to believe Luke's account of Jesus, we can skip all that: Luke 24:27,44 Genesis is the most quoted book in the Bible. Jesus quotes both creation accounts.

Titles or Colophons?

There are 11 sections divided by the formula, "These are the generations of ____", called תּוֹלְדֹת ("toledoth") meaning "generations" or "origin". . These are often interpreted as a heading for the following section , with Genesis 1:1-2:3 as an introduction. However, that formula was also how an author or owner signed clay tablets. Moses as editor would have compiled all the tablets, including their signatures. The signature for the story of Joseph would be Exo 1:1-5. Charles V. Taylor takes the latter view in an excellent article, and here is an opposing view.

John 5:46 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. Look for Jesus in Genesis.

Alphabet and Simple Grammar

Ignoring the controversy over the paleo-hebrew alphabet, and when it was used, we will use the Aramaic font that Daniel used, because he is our hero!

א ב ג ד ה ו ז ח ט י כך ל מם נן ס ע פף צץ ק ר ש ת	Aleph Bet, Gimmel Dalet Hey, Vav [and] Zayin, Chet Tet Yod, Kaf Lamed Mem, Nun Samekh Ayin, Pey Tsade Qof, Resh Shin Tav,	אֵ֥ת -הַ -וְ -בְּ ים- עַל־	Placed before direct object Definite article prefix Conjunctive prefix (and/but) Preposition prefix: in Masculine plural suffix Preposition: upon
	Now I know my Aleph Bet, Next time won't you sing with me.

Genesis 1:1

Psalm 8

1:1 John 1:1 is the third genealogy of Christ, who was in the beginning.
בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית "In beginning" Notice there is no definite article. The beginning of our universe is not the beginning of everything. The Bible describes a multi-verse. Notice that there is nothing about this beginning that can be dated from the text. When were the Angels created? Job 38
בָּרָ֣א "created from nothing," as distinct from יַּ֣עַשׂ (made) in verse 7. The Bible multi-verse is very different from modern multiverse cosmology. Our universe is a story. His Story. There was no pre-existent hyper-universe, only the Author. It is very different from Greek cosmology, where the Demiurge made an island of order from pre-existing Chaos, protected by the celestial sphere.
אֱלֹהִ֑ים "Elohim," God. Notice the masculine plural. The singular would be Alah, from the verb "to fear" or "he sware".