Day 1
So, here’s the plan. I’m going to read the entirety of the Hebrew Scriptures, Apocrypha, and Christian Scriptures in 45 days. I might allow for a mental health day in there somewhere, but we’ll see. I’m using the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible (Oxford Annotated Version). I appreciate the rigor of the research that went into this translation while balancing the poetry. Use whatever Bible you prefer, all that matters is connecting and engaging.
I’ll offer a one word that came to mind while reading the book, a “from the gut” reaction to the text, and 3-5 things I want to remember. I don’t aim to write a treatise here, just some reactions from this journey into and through the text. Some posts will be shorter, some longer, it’s all good.
See my original post for the 45 day plan. Here we go!
Genesis has nothing to do with Phil Collins
I know this book. We all know this book in the West, right? We can quote a few lines here and there, we know the basic stories. If you live in Kentucky, you know there’s a replica of Noah’s Ark that was a colossal waste of taxpayer money. We all have memories of Adam and Eve, the serpent in the garden, Joseph and his…remarkably normal coat, and Abraham attempting to sacrifice Isaac. I found I didn’t connect with the Garden of Eden or Noah’s Ark. But I did take notice. It is implied the serpent wasn’t always legless in Eden and Noah didn’t send out a dove at first, but a raven.
I read this book and felt like I was peering into a Hebrew version of a council fire (is there a term for this?). Elders were sharing their recollections of stories handed down by their parents and their parents and their parents and so on. Some went on tangents and tried to list all of the relatives they could remember — if only to realize they couldn’t remember those relatives and their stories any longer. I was left feeling like Genesis was an incomplete book. Case in point: from chapter 10 to 11, we find lists of generations and names — all without stories to accompany them, and sandwiched in between is the story of the Tower of Babel. Where did the other stories go? Who couldn’t make it to the council fire? What was lost to memory?
The whole while, God was like an impatient stage director, ensuring certain things were set into motion and hurrying along the story, often jumping into roles here and there and stealing lines from the actors. I was left wondering about the stories I like to tell about who I am and where I come from…and the times when the story felt rushed along just to reach a destination.
One Word for Genesis: Primordial
Parts of the Story That Stayed With Me
- Gen 11, The Tower of Babel. I remember a children’s cartoon of this story my very Catholic aunt showed me once as a child. I loved it. I love this story. In reading the text, something jumped out at me that I need to chew on. When humanity built the tower, God looked and pondered: “Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.” (11:6) It’s often said the tower was destroyed and the people scattered because of their pride. But look at that acknowledgement…there’s nothing that humanity proposes to do that is impossible! Perhaps I’m having a COVID reading of Babel, and that’s okay.
- Gen 34, Vengeance for Dinah. Content Warning: Sexual Assault. A man named Schechem “defiled” Jacob’s daughter, Dinah. I feel like this will be a common encounter in these texts, but what happened next is golden. The sons of Jacob wanted vengeance for their sister and decided to deceive Schechem. They promised to give him their sister in marriage…if only all the men of the city would be circumcised. Schechem agreed and every male in the city found himself having a pretty rough day. On the third day, all the men of the city were still recovering — in pain from their unexpected surgeries! — and Simeon and Levi, two of Dinah’s brothers, went into the city and killed the men who defiled their sister. So great was the pain of the abrupt circumcisions, Simeon and Levi had their vengeance with little resistance. I feel like this could be a Tarantino movie.
- Gen 43 – 44, Benjamin and Joseph. Besides having Joseph’s Coat (see below) stuck in my head reading the entire story of Joseph, I was struck by how Benjamin (the youngest brother) was little more than a prop. I wanted to hear his words, his thoughts, and know more about his relationship with Joseph. It was clearly meaningful to Joseph and was a catalyst for him reconciling with his brothers and bringing them to Egypt with his father, Jacob (aka Israel). What’s also interesting…and why I want to hear from Benjamin…is Jacob’s deathbed oracle for his youngest son: “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning devouring the prey, and at evening dividing the spoil.” (49:27) Fascinating.
This post is part of a lager series where I read the entirety of Hebrew & Christian scriptures in 45 days. Take a look a the original post for more info, as well as links to other reflections on this journey.