Genesis: the misunderstood foundations of the Bible

Genesis: the misunderstood foundations of the Bible

The book of Genesis is the first book in the Bible and forms the foundation for the story of salvation. Sadly, Genesis is also the most misunderstood book of the Bible resulting in confusion and misconceptions of the entire story of salvation within the Bible. Personally, I was one of these people which is why I was an atheist for 16 years. After understanding God does exist and spending numerous hours studying the book of Genesis with the aid of many scholarly Catholic resources, I have answered many of my questions while correcting my own misconceptions, which are shared by many people. By learning how to understand the Book of Genesis, we can better understand the entire Bible and God Himself so that we may turn to Him and accept God’s gift of eternity with Him.

There two preliminary points that need to be addressed to better understand how to read the book of Genesis.

First, the book of Genesis was written by ancient people during ancient times. The inspired authors were not writing the same way we do in the modern world. Additionally, they had their own cultural influence on the writing. This means that certain things were written by a foreign and ancient culture that would not carry the same meaning if it were written today.

Second, we must understand that we will not understand everything in Genesis, especially during our first read. There are many loose ends through Genesis that aren’t tied up until the end of the New Testament, when most readers have forgotten about the loose ends in Genesis. We have all watched a movie or read a book more than once, and during the second watch/read we were able to pick up many more details because we were now familiar with the whole story. The Bible is no exception to this, especially with Genesis.

 What is the structure of Genesis?

Genesis is broken down into two main parts, chapters 1-11, the primeval history and chapters 12-50, the patriarchal history.¹ Genesis 1-11 covers the origins of the universe, creation of all creatures, the fall of humanity, and the great flood. Genesis 12-50 discusses the lives of the patriarchs beginning with Abraham and ending with his descendants as they enter into servitude in Egypt. This is important to understand because there are two distinct writing styles for these two portions of Genesis.

The primeval history is a written of things that did actually happen, however not necessarily in a scientific or historical rendering. Instead, referring to Pope Pius XII, the primeval history is written as a “popular description of fundamental truths using figurative language” meaning these chapters pertain to history in a true sense and must not be reduced to myths (Pius XII).² There are many aspects of Genesis 1-11 to discuss in this regard which are covered in other posts.

The patriarchal history details the life of Abraham and three generations of his descendants. Abraham is the father of faith, from whom the people of Israel descended. The credibility of the patriarchal history can be shown by the deficiencies of the patriarchs. Abraham exhibits many imperfections, such as lying and violating the Levitical law of the early Jews, as shown by marrying his half-sister. This, and many other examples, gives merit to the creditability of the narratives contained in Genesis 12-50; if the authors were faking everything, they would have painted Abraham in a great light, however they do not withhold aspects that show him as less than ideal in some circumstances, making his story more plausible than if Abraham and his descendants were perfect adherents to the Jewish law. Instead, these imperfections give insight into God by showing us that we as humans are unmerited in receiving the gift of salvation, with it being a gift freely given to us by God purely out of His love.

Conclusion

As people read through Genesis, there are many loose ends but they all come together in the Full Revelation of Faith through Jesus Christ. Genesis is the beginning of the Bible and foundation for the story of salvation. This first book of the Bible beautifully connects to the final chapter of the story of salvation which is found in Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Alpha and the Omega. I welcome you to join me on this journey to learn more about the Bible and the roots of the Christian faith, which are found in the beginning, in Genesis. 

References

¹ 2024. The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible. San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press., pg54

² Ibid.