1. Creation. Genesis 1-2.
2. The Fall. Genesis 3-5.
3. The Deluge. Genesis 6-9.
4. The Nations. -11.
5. Abraham. Genesis 12-20.
6. Isaac. Genesis 21-27.
7. Jacob. Genesis 28-36.
8. Joseph. Genesis 37-50.

1. Creation. Gen 1:1-3.
2. Creation of Man. Gen 2:4.
3. The Fall of Man. Gen 3:1.
4. Beginnings of Civilization. Gen 4:1.
5. Descendants of Adam. Gen 5:1.
6. Beginning of Agriculture. Gen 5:29.
7. Sons of God and Daughters of Men. Gen 6:1.
8. The Flood. Gen 6:5-19.
9. Last Days of Noah. Gen 9:20.
10. Descendants of Noah. Gen 10:1.
11. Confusion of Tongues. Gen 11:1.
12. Descendants of Shem. Gen 11:10.
13. Genealogy of Abraham. Gen 11:27.
14. The Call of Abraham. Gen 12:1.
15. Abraham in Egypt. Gen 12:9.
16. Abraham and Lot. Gen 13:2.
17. The War of the Kings. Gen 14:1.
18. Covenant with Abraham. Gen 15:1.
19. Abraham and Hagar. Gen 16:1.
20. Covenant of Circumcision. Gen 17:1.
21. Lord’s Visit to Hebron. Gen 18:1.
22. Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Gen 19:1.
23. Origin of Moab and Ammon. Gen 19:30
24. Abraham and Isaac. Gen 20:1-7.
25. Hagar and Ishmael. Gen 21:8.
26. Abraham and Abimelech. Gen 21:22.
27. Testing of Abraham. Gen 22:1.
28. Descendants of Nahor. Gen 22:20.
29. Burial of Sarah. Gen 23:1.
30. Choice of Isaac’s Wife. Gen 24:1.
31. Sons of Keturah. Gen 25:1.
32. Death of Abraham. Gen 25:7.
33. Descendants of Ishmael. Gen 25:12.
34. Jacob and Esau. I. Gen 25:19.
35. Isaac and Rebekah. Gen 26:1.
36. Jacob and Esau. II. Gen 26:34.
37. Jacob at Bethel. Gen 28:10.
38. Jacob at Paddan-Aram. Gen 29:1-55.
39. Jacob and Esau. III. Gen 32:1-16.
40. Jacob and Family. Gen 33:17-26.
41. Death of Isaac. Gen 35:27.
42. Descendants of Esau. Gen 36:1.
43. Joseph Goes to Egypt. Gen 37:1.
44. Judah and Tamar. Gen 38:1.
45. Joseph in Egypt. Gen 39:1-57.
46. Joseph and His Brothers. Gen 42:1-28.
47. Jacob in Egypt. Gen 46:1-22.
48. Jacob Blesses Sons and Dies. Gen 49:1.
49. Burial of Jacob. Gen 50:1.

1. To tell the story of “beginnings.”
2. More especially, to tell about the beginnings of Israel. The call of Abraham.
3. To portray man’s relation to God.

1. Genesis is a compilation. Individual authors are unknown.
2. There were four major contributors and probably numerous editors.
3. The contributors were:

A. J¹-the Judah or Yahwist Document.
B. J²-a second Yahwist Document.
C. E-the Ephraim or Elohist Document.
D. P-the Priestly Document.

4. Dates: Σ.

1. J¹-850 B.C.
2. J²-750 B.C.
3. E -700 B.C.
4. P -500-450 B.C.

1. The original and primitive material is in Chapters Gen 2-4.
2. Tells how man was expelled from the Garden and took up agriculture. Gen 3:23.
3. Cain — a fugitive — became a wanderer — beginning of nomadism. (There are two records of Cain-not to mention getting a wife.)
4. In Genesis it says Noah was the first tiller of the soil. (There are also two accounts of Noah.)
5. The J documents are the traditions of the southern Israelites, with headquarters at Hebron. They are the Kadesh or Mt. Horeb tribes who penetrated Canaan from the south. (Hebron was one of the cities of Caleb and was also known as Kirjath-arba.)
6. Tells of the “mighty” and the “Nephilim.” For more light on Nephilim, see Urantia Book (UB 77:2.3)
7. In J¹ Abraham is associated with Hebron.
8. The Deborah song-the earliest Old Testament document-is a J¹ contribution.
9. This author deals with Sodom and Lot-and the misbehaving daughters of Lot (origin of the Moabites and the Ammonites).
10. Isaac, patriarch of the northern tribes, at Beersheba, becomes the son of father Abraham. Abraham, 100-Sarah, 91. (Isaac was a more important person than the Old Testament record indicates.)
11. The East-Jordan tribes are taken into the Abraham fold. This embraces the Jacob traditions-for Jacob was the father of the East-Jordan tribes. (Jacob is a much more real person as compared to Isaac. There are three strands in his story.)
12. Now comes the story of Esau and Jacob. (Some parts of this story are difficult to accept.)
13. Next, the story of Jacob, Laban, and his daughters. (Jacob is a queer combination of the honest and the dishonest-the clever and the stupid.)
14. J¹ portrays the Israelites as “clever” and the Canaanites as “stupid.”
15. J¹ explains how Judah became head of things over his three older brothers.
16. This author has Joseph sold into Egyptian slavery by his brothers.
17. The J story of creation presents many features of the Babylonian myths of creation. It also resembles some of the Egyptian myths.
18. It also elaborates the Ishmael story.
19. Presents Joseph buried at Shechem-another narrative buries him in Egypt.

Note: This was during the Hyksos occupation of Egypt and they were favorably disposed toward strangers.

1. This document is prompted by the crisis of David’s moving his capital from Hebron to Jerusalem.
2. Still more was it prompted by the disruption of the kingdom of David and Solomon.
3. J² is a supreme attempt to maintain the “unity of Israel.”
4. J² presents many myths, legends, and traditions of which J¹ was wholly ignorant.
5. First, there was a Canaanite version of a Babylonian creation myth and a story about the Garden of Eden. They most artistically revised both of these stories.
6. J² presents man as an agriculturalist from his expulsion from the Garden. J¹ had man come up from cultureless nomadism to agriculture. In order to resolve this dilemma, they make use of the story of Cain and Abel.
7. J² introduces the story of the flood as presented in the former document, but makes Noah a new hero.
8. He elaborates the story of Jacob and Rachel, and how he discovers that she is his cousin.
9. J² identifies one of the three strange visitors to Abraham as Yahweh.
10. He explains Jacob’s becoming heir to the “promise,” because Esau sold his “birthright.”
11. J² was worried over some of J¹’s narratives-he thought they were too lax in morals and their treatment of sex offenses. So he proceeded to edit five of them:

A. Jacob outwitting Laban.
B. Rachel’s theft of the teraphim.
C. Judah and Tamar.
D. Seduction of Dinah.
E. Joseph and his master’s wife.

12. A new and elaborated story of Isaac’s marriage. An attempt to show that Jacob’s wives were not Canaanites, but of Abraham’s stock. All to keep “pure” the Israelite blood.
13. J¹ had said Isaac was the founder of Beer-sheba. Now J² comes along and says Abraham founded Beer-sheba. He also carries over a story of Isaac to Abraham-representing his wife as his sister.
14. J² endeavors to present Beer-sheba as of equal rank with Hebron as a religious shrine.
15. J² adds the story of Ishmael and the Ishmaelites.
16. The story of Jacob at Bethel is illustrative of the attempt of J² to bring the J¹ record into agreement with the traditions of the north.
17. Not many additions were made to the J story before it was conflated with a new document.

1. In the Moffatt Bible these different sources of Genesis are printed in different style types.
2. When several documents are “put together" — "fused,” the result is called a CONFLATION. The person who does this is known as a REDACTOR.
3. There is no trace of the E document in the first eleven chapters of Genesis.
4. The E document always uses Elohim for God. It makes no mention of Yahweh.
5. It begins the narrative with Abraham — Genesis Chapter 12.
6. E deals with the Horeb traditions. These tribes worship Elohim, were long camped at Kadesh, and got their law at Mt. Horeb.
7. The author of E was a northerner.
8. According to E, Beer-sheba was Abraham’s only dwelling place. No reference is ever made to Hebron.
9. He locates the story of Abraham’s imperiling his wife in Egypt, and a parallel story about Isaac in Gerar.
10. E is always concerned with rehabilitating the moral reputation of the patriarchs.
11. The drastic rewriting of the story of Jacob and Laban. Instead of one rogue trying to outwit another, he depicts Jacob as the innocent victim of Laban’s duplicity.
12. Joseph is kidnapped by a passing caravan, instead of being sold into slavery by his brothers.
13. E omits the story about Joseph putting his cup in Benjamin’s sack.
14. The E author was averse to so much sex in the Scriptures. He cut out the following sex stories:

A. Lot and his daughters.
B. Seduction of Dinah.
C. Judah and Tamar.
D. Joseph and his master’s wife.

15. E omits the story of Jacob’s wrestling at the Jabbok-probably because of the theological difficulties it occasioned.
16. The cult of “Humanism” is appearing. The only story of Abraham peculiar to E is the testing of his faith in the “sacrifice of Isaac.”
17. E tells a more humane story about Hagar and Ishmael.
18. Now comes the conflation of documents-combined J¹ and J² with E-and this was the Hebrew scripture until after the exile.

1. Now comes the time, during the Babylonian exile, when the priests undertake a drastic revision, a complete rewriting, of the whole of the Hebrew scriptures. This is the P document, and its purpose was:

A. Boosting of morale-augmentation of national pride.
B. Rebuilding of Jerusalem.
C. Restoration of the temple with its sacrifices and ceremonials of worship.
D. Confirmation of the concept of the “chosen people.”
E. Adjustment of the new idea of the synagogue to the central temple worship.
F. Establishment of Abraham as the father of Israel, Moses the Deliverer, and David the founder of an everlasting dynasty.
G. Bringing the Scriptures up to date-to effect a more expert conflation of their revision with the already combined writings of J and E.

2. The outstanding purpose of P is to associate Abraham exclusively with Hebron and Moses with Mt. Sinai.
3. Revision of the creation story. (UB 77:2.3). May be tainted with some Babylonian myths, but is austere in its grandeur.
4. The primeval “watery chaos” is left out. The “Spirit moving over the face of the deep” sounds like a Babylonian story.
5. Change of the “firmament, covering of heaven.” as a solid substance.
6. Purpose of the heavenly bodies to regulate time, and the idea of deity consultation, “let us” make man.
7. P compresses eight creative acts into six days, in order to provide for the establishment and hallowing of the Sabbath.
8. P omits the story of the fall of man-in its place, presents the genealogy extending from Adam to the flood.
9. In the story of the Patriarchs, omits all reference to sanctuaries and altars.
10. In the history of Israel, no sacrifices are offered to Yahweh until Moses receives such instructions at Mt. Sinai.
11. Omits all stories reflecting unfavorably on the moral character of the founding fathers.
12. P is the framework of the present book of Genesis.
13. P represents many improved features of Genesis. “Man is made in the image of God.”
14. P tells a new or enlarged story about:

A. Creation. Gen 1:1-3.
B. The flood. Parts of Chap. Gen. 6 and Gen. 9.
D. Abraham buys land. Gen 23.
E. The ten genealogies.
F. The Sabbath. Gen 2:3.
G. Forbidding blood. Gen 9:3.
H. Circumcision. Gen 17:22.

15. The P document stresses revelations to Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses.

1. Remember that E was trying to free the Patriarchs from the charge of moral laxity.
2. Also remember: There always were two distinct groups of Hebrews. The Yahwists and the Elohists. The Judahites and the Ephraimites. The Northern and the Southern. The Hebron and the Beer-sheba groups. The Mt. Sinai and Mt. Horeb tribes. And even in later times, the Jews and the Samaritans.
3. That God is PERSONAL. That he is all-powerful-and that he is the CREATOR.
4. That God is divine-and that his acts are all purposeful. He is the God of history.
5. It was the task of J¹ to transform the Yahwism of the desert into the monotheism of a God-serving nation-of all mankind.
6. J² strove for spiritual unity. He adapted Babylonian myths to Yahwism. He made the religion of Israel different from all other religions.
7. The redactor of the J and E documents, in order to promote unity, must have retained many documents that were morally repugnant to him.
8. There were many motives behind the P editors:

A. Again, first among the motives was unity.
B. But, most of all, it was the intention to exalt the temple services and the priesthood at Jerusalem.
C. They also wanted to root out myths and falsehoods. (We do not know how many they removed-we only know what they retained.)
D. They wanted to overcome the tendency toward “localism” and “nationalism"-even the nationalism of Deuteronomy.
E. They really wanted the Jews to accept their mission to the gentiles. You see, they had lived among gentiles and had learned even to like them.
F. Last, but not least, they wanted to enthuse the Jews to rebuild Jerusalem and re-establish themselves in Palestine.
G. And they wanted to improve and harmonize the Hebrew scriptures.

9. When trying to improve the Genesis record, they were always afraid to remove the older and primitive records. Hence, so many dual documents. Two accounts of creation-two accounts of the creation of man and woman.
10. The whole message of Genesis is “In the beginning-God.” No matter how mythical or symbolic the language-the TRUTH is there.
11. When properly regarded, Genesis affords no ground for a conflict between science and religion. Genesis is neither science nor history.
12. In Christian theology, the fall of man becomes relevant. Says Paul: “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” 1 Cor 15:22.

1. Creation. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Gen 1:1.
2. Image of God. “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image.’” Gen 1:26.
3. Voice in the Garden. “The Lord God called to the man, and said to him, ‘Where are you?’” Gen 1:26. (See Urantia Book (UB 75:4.8).
4. The curse. “In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread.” Gen 3:19.
5. Brother’s keeper. “Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is Abel your brother?’ He said, ‘I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?’” Gen 4:9.
6. Enoch’s translation. “Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.” Gen 5:24.
7. The Nephilim. “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days...when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men.” Gen 6:4.
8. The rainbow. “I set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign...never again...a flood to destroy all flesh.” Gen 9:13.
9. Confusion of language. “Let us go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” Gen 11:7.
10. Melchizedek and Abraham. “After his return from the defeat of Ched-or-laomer...Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine...and Abram gave him a tenth of everything.” Gen 14:17. (See Urantia Book (93:5.13).
11. Abraham’s faith. “And he believed the Lord; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness.” Gen 15:6.
12. Circumcision. “You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant.” Gen 17:11.
13. The pillar of salt. “But Lot’s wife...looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.” Gen 19:26.
14. Jacob’s ladder. “And he dreamed that there was a ladder set upon the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!” Gen 28:12.
15. Mizpah. “Therefore he named...the pillar Mizpah, for he said, ‘The Lord watch between you and me, when we are absent one from the other.’” Gen 31:49.
16. Joseph in Egypt. “Joseph was governor...and Joseph’s brothers came, and bowed themselves before him.” Gen 42:6.