Exegesis of Genesis 22:1-19

One fact that must remain in consideration by any student of textual criticism is that there were many other religious and philosophical writings produced simultaneously with the Scriptures of the New Testament era. Robert J. Sargent states, “As the Bible was being written down, numerous other religious

In Genesis chapter 23, Sarah the wife of Abraham died. Subsequently, Abraham wished to bury her and sought to purchase property from the sons of Heth (Hittites). The sons of Heth viewed Abraham as a prince and offered him the best of their tombs for Sarah’s burial and withheld none from him. Abraham requested a plot owned by Ephron the Hittite which was a joined to a field. Ephron offered it to Abraham at no cost but Abraham insisted upon paying for the entire land at full price which was 400 shekels of silver.

Joseph Blenkinsopp is the most contemporary scholar to date, that debates the highly contested issue of the Documentary Hypothesis. This theory relates to the origins of the Torah, also known as the Pentateuch, meaning ‘instruction’, and is part of the Hebrew Bible, including the following five books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Documentary Hypothesis questions the authority of the author and source of the Torah. The Documentary Hypothesis is also known as the Julius Wellhausen proposition. This theory essentially proposes the notion that the Torah was actually derived from at least four independent, original narratives that, when combined, make up this one codex. Thus refuting the original and

Thousands of years ago, it was taught and learned that Moses was the sole author of the Torah, or the Pentateuch; this is known as the Mosaic Authorship. Although this view was proven to possess many flaws, it is still believed by some people today. It is now agreed by most that there cannot be one exclusive author to such an epic document. This is due to the fact that many studies have conducted in order to prove that there is indeed more than one author. It was decided are simply too many discrepancies when it comes to writing styles,

The Documentary Hypothesis – Scholarly Rejection The Jerusalem Talmud, a rabbinical review of oral Jewish law, particularly the Mishnah, provides original oral history and review of the Pentateuch. Oral traditions became writings because of the Roman defeat regarding the Jewish Revolt in 70 C.E. resulting in legal as well as social changes. The oral traditions endured criticisms throughout the years, yet Orthodox Jews believe traditional histories over modern, contemporary criticisms. It is these oral traditions that provide solidity to conversions to written accounts.

It is fair to assume that because of their different tasks, they spent their working hours in very different environments, had to adopt different ways of dressing, used different tools, and perhaps even had different diets and associations. The exact reasons are not given to us in the immediate account but Cain’s elements were not accepted favorably and ‘… the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering.’ (Gen 4:4, KJV). For that, Cain became visibly and aggressively upset. Apparently he was not happy that his way was not given the respect of being the central standard and over time did rise up and kill Abel. They were siblings living in the same household, under the same guidance and direction yet they both worked and identified their

Despite such complexities, the church growth continued and the influence of outside beliefs were becoming unmanageable there was a felt need to establish the works of God, “the church grew in Asia, Africa and Europe, it became important to establish, which books originated from apostolic authority 1. Since the churches used the writing of the apostles to establish doctrine and teach, it was mandatory to discriminate against books, which had dubious origins.”2

It is now opinions of many biblical scholars and historians that Moses did not write the first five books also known as the Torah or the Pentateuch of the Old Testament which is also known as the Tanakh. There exists a theory that the original authors consisted five different groups all from various locations in the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah and who contributed to the writing of the Torah over a period of centuries. This theory is what is now known as the Documentary Hypothesis.

1-2: The phrase “after these things” refers to the vision of Babylon’s demise in Revelation 18:20-24, as this is the chapter now tells of the destruction of the beast and the false prophet. Since the voice is described “as a great voice” instead of simply a great voice, this may inform the reader that the speaker is a heavenly host telling John of heavenly realities. The praise that is offered is because of God’s “true and righteous” judgments, which references Psalm 19:9. God has given the great prostitute what she deserves by avenging the blood of the saints, in Greek “exacted in retribution,” which references Genesis 9:5, as the great harlot pays for her unholy spilling of blood in full.

The most persuasive argument in favor of the documentary hypothesis was the variation of Divine Names in Genesis. Collins made known that in some passages God was referred to as Elohim while in others He is called Yahweh (Collins, 49). This shows that the Pentateuch was not written by the same author, but by multiple authors. If it was the same author then the name for God would have remained the same throughout all five books. The editors who composed the Pentateuch had to have taken documents from different sources (J, E, D, P) to create the five books. For example, in Exodus God spoke to Moses saying “I am YHWH. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as El Shadday, but by my name YHWH I did not make myself known to them” (Collins, 50).

While there are numerous themes throughout the Pentateuch, in this writing, we will review six foremost premises. The first premise is that God has power over and created all the universe, and has entrusted its stewardship to humanity (Tullock, & McEntire, 2012). Secondly, due to humanity’s faithlessness and sinful nature, God is constantly judging them. Next, Israel’s relationship with God weaves throughout both the patriarch’s obedience and disobedience. Additionally, the covenant between God and Abraham promised great lands and descendants if Abraham would uphold his portion of the agreement. Also, the Pentateuch narrates the Israelites growth into a people, and their need for the law in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy (Wilcox, 2014).

From a historical perspective, it is important to note that the term hermeneutics has been applied to justify biblical interpretations. Unique to the principles of biblical interpretations one may reference the hermeneutics relationship between the “ New and Old Testaments as Jesus interprets himself to the Jews regarding scriptural prophecy”(Bentz, 2015, p.35). Moreover, the study of the term hermeneutics emerged in non-biblical literature, thus forming the foundation that focused on man’s art, actions, and writings (Bentz,2015), that gives respect to different beliefs. In non-biblical literature, hermeneutics cores to the discipline of human science by philosophical thinkers; they critique text to further their dimensions of

2When you buy a male Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, but in the seventh he shall go out a free person, without debt.3If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him.4If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master 's and he shall go out alone.5But if the slave declares, "I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out a free person,"6then his master shall bring him before God. He shall be brought to the door or the doorpost; and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and

Throughout the decades the traditional belief of the author of the first five books in the Hebrew Bible is believed to be Moses. The Pentateuch is the first division of the Hebrew Bible which consists of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Contrary to traditional belief, it is thought that the Pentateuch is a conglomeration of early written documents. The Documentary Hypothesis explains the issues of how and why the Pentateuch was written. The Documentary Hypothesis presents four source documents the Yahwist document, the Elohist document, the Deuteronomist document, and the Priestly document as the basis of the first five books in the Hebrew Bible that would later form the Pentateuch as the world knows it today.

Pentateuch – the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, traditionally ascribed to Moses but now regarded as the product of