Lecture Notes on Genesis by Dr. Justin Jackson

Introduction

• Course Focus: Book of Genesis
  • Coverage of Genesis stories
  • Literary qualities of the text
  • Key relationships in Genesis
    • God and Creation
    • God and Human Beings
    • Human to Human
    • Human Beings and Creation
  • Special focus on the intersection between relationships

Genesis: Creation of Adam and Eve

• Man as Mediator
  • Created in God's image
  • Central position between divine (heaven) and earthly (material creation)
• Genesis 2 Highlights
  • Creation from soil, breath of life
  • Task: Tend to the Garden of Eden
  • Commands: Not to eat from Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil

Human Relationships in Genesis

• Not Good for Man to be Alone
  • Introduction of woman as sustainer
  • Creation of animals and naming
• Significance of Naming
  • Divine-human relationship in naming
  • Corporate personhood
  • Identity formation through relationships

The Fall: Genesis 3

• Temptation and Transgression
  • Serpent's cunning deception
  • Desire for divine knowledge
  • Immediate consequences: Awareness of nakedness
• Commandment and Prohibition
  • Importance of the Tree of Knowledge
  • Good and Evil: Tree is inherently good
  • Complex understanding of knowledge
• Shame and Responsibility
  • Adam and Eve's lack of repentance
  • Blame shifting among Adam, Eve, and the divine

Theological and Literary Analysis

• God's Questions and Repentance
  • Opportunity for repentance
  • Simple narrative of commandment and repentance
• Nature of Knowledge and Freedom
  • Good and evil as dual knowledge
  • Divine image and likeness

Conclusion: Divine Mercy and Justice

• Post-Transgression State
  • Expulsion from Eden as mercy
  • Preventing eternal shame
  • Opportunity to grow in relationship with divine through commandments
• Continued Exploration
  • Future focus on the Abraham narrative

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Key Takeaways:

• Genesis sets foundational relationships important to the narrative.
• Human interaction with divine commandments offers opportunities for understanding and growth.
• The divine-human relationship is complex, involving aspects of justice, mercy, and opportunity for repentance.