Before Genesis?

Kay and I were processing this a week or so ago and just thought I'd throw it out there if anyone wants to comment on it. (It stems from a lecture we heard recently.)

The initial account of creation (Chap. 1) is really just a quick overview introduction to the book of Genesis. It really doesn't say a whole lot, though it does coincide amazingly well with biological and geological history of the world. It also fits beautifully into ancient near east poetic structure. But the point is, it seems like it expects the reader to already be familiar with the idea and events of creation. It is there to make a few points, recap, and connect with it's audience. Then the second account (Chap. 2) is where the story sort of picks up on its characters and goes from there.

Unfortunately, I think a lot of people primarily use the intro to Genesis as the singular biblical reference to the idea and events of creation.

Let me tangent a second. I correlate this to the intro of the Gospel attributed to Matthew where the geneology of Jesus is presented. It assumes one is already familiar with the history of Israel (accounted in the Old Testament) to understand the connection and point that is being made by the names that are used.

But understanding that geneology isn't quite as easy from 21st century experience, mindset and approach to history-telling. Thus we don't as easily make the connections without intentional effort.

How does this relate? Well, we were wondering what else the Israelite people would have had on which to more fully base their understanding of creation.

But what predates Genesis?

Well, theoretically, the first five books of the Bible were given to us by Moses, or in the time of Moses. That's a LONG time after the creation account. And as everyone should know, much of the written record of the Bible was oral tradition for tens to hundreds of years (in this case, thousands) before it was actually written down.

So again, what's before Genesis? The lecture we were listening to was on creation material found in the book of Job. This is it. The book of Job is possibly the oldest story found in the Bible; it is maybe the first one ever written down. This could explain why it reads so, so different from anything else. It actually gives quite a bit of detail to various features of creation, though of course, not aligning it in an organized focused account. Of course, there is much more in the book of Job than merely creation material. In fact, there is a ton that can be taken out of Job. But as it relates, Job was material the Israelite people would have already had in there story-telling repertoire by the time of Moses.

Try it. Go read Job. Pay attention to anything relating to the earth, nature, animals, winds, God creating, etc. Then read the Genesis intro. and see what you get out of it.