Genesis

Dianne Bergant, CSA, is the Carroll Stuhlmueller, CP, Distinguished Professor Emerita of Old Testament Studies at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. She is a past president of the Catholic Biblical Association. Her many books include the Preaching the New Lectionary series, Scripture: History and Interpretation, the two New Collegeville Bible Commentary volumes on Psalms, and the two-volume Israel’s Story, all from Liturgical Press.

• ContentsIntroduction   xiLiterary Structure and Genre(s)   xiiAesthetics of the Text   xivAuthorship   xvSources, Date, and Place of Composition   xviSocial Setting   xviiiTheological Perspectives   xixContemporary Reading   xxiPart 1: “In the Beginning” (Gen 1:1–11:26)   1Chapter 1: “And God Saw That It Was Good” (Gen 1:1–3:24)   3A Cosmology (Gen 1:1–2:4a)   3The Garden (Gen 2:4b-25)   8The Sin (Gen 3:1-24)   13Contemporary Reading: Banished from the Garden   18Chapter 2: “Sin Is a Demon Lurking at the Door” (Gen 4:1–6:4)   19The Sons of Eve (Gen 4:1-16)   20Generation after Generation (Gen 4:17-26)   22From Creation to the Flood (Gen 5:1-32)   24Sin Abounds (Gen 6:1-4)   25Contemporary Reading: Invisibility and Blame   27Chapter 3: “How Great Was Their Wickedness” (Gen 6:5–9:29)   29Warning of a Flood (Gen 6:5-8)   29Building the Ark (Gen 6:9–7:5)   30The Flood (Gen 7:6–8:22)   33Covenant with Nature (Gen 9:1-29)   33Contemporary Reading: A New Creation?   36Chapter 4: “These Are the Descendants” (Gen 10:1–11:26)   39The Table of Nations (Gen 10:1-32)  39The Tower of Babel (Gen 11:1-9)   40Genealogy from the Flood to the Ancestors (Gen 11:10-26)   44Contemporary Reading: One Voice   44Part 2: “I Will Make of You a Great Nation” (Gen 11:27–50:26)   45Abraham and Sarah (Gen 11:27–25:18)   47Chapter 5: “Go from Your Country” (Gen 11:27–14:24)   49Origins in Haran (Gen 11:27-32)   49Migration from Haran (Gen 12:1-20)   50Travels through Canaan (13:1–14:24)   53Contemporary Reading: Limitations of the Household   57Chapter 6: “This Is My Covenant with You” (Gen 15:1–17:27)   59Cutting a Covenant (Gen 15:1-21)   59The Son of Hagar (Gen 16:1-15)   62Sign of the Covenant (Gen 17:1-27)   66Contemporary Reading: The Weak Are Strong   70Chapter 7: “By the Terebinth of Mamre” (Gen 18:1–20:18)   71The Promise of a Child (Gen 18:1-16)   71The Fate of the Cities (Gen 18:17–19:38)   74The Promise Preserved (Gen 20:1-18)   79Contemporary Reading: Women at Risk   82Chapter 8: “YHWH Took Note of Sarah” (Gen 21:1–23:20)   83Sarah’s Child (Gen 21:1-34)   83A Test of Trust (Gen 22:1-24)   87Sarah’s Death and the Purchase of Land (Gen 23:1-20)   91Contemporary Reading: Hardship Overcome   93Chapter 9: “The Woman Whom the Lord Has Decided Upon”  (Gen 24:1–25:18)  95The Choice of Rebekah (Gen 24:1-66)   95The End of an Era (Gen 25:1-18)   100Contemporary Reading: The Importance of a Woman   102Isaac and Rebekah: Jacob, Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah (Gen 25:19–36:43)   103Chapter 10: “Rebekah Became Pregnant” (Gen 25:19–27:46)   105The Children in Her Womb Struggled (Gen 25:19-34)   105A Trip to Gerar (Gen 26:1-35)   108A Resourceful Mother (Gen 27:1-46)   111Contemporary Reading: Protector of the Promise   115Chapter 11: “The Daughters of Laban” (Gen 28:1–30:24)   117Wives for Jacob and Esau (Gen 28:1-9)   117The Dream at Bethel (Gen 28:10-22)   118Arrival at Haran (Gen 29:1-14a)   120The Struggle between Rachel and Leah (Gen 29:14b-30)   121The Children of Wives and Maidservants (Gen 29:31–30:24)   124Contemporary Reading: Is Biology Destiny?   126Chapter 12: “Let Us Make a Covenant” (Gen 30:25–32:2)   129Laban Is Tricked (Gen 30:25-43)   129The Tricksters Escape (Gen 31:1-24)   130The Covenant at Mizpah (Gen 31:25–32:2)   132Contemporary Reading: Family Wisdom   136Chapter 13: “You Have Contended with [the] Divine” (Gen 32:3–33:20)   137Appeasement (Gen 32:3-22)   137Wrestling during the Night (Gen 32:23-33)   139Reconciliation (Gen 33:1-20)   140Contemporary Reading: The Women and Children Are Safe   142Chapter 14: “An Outrage in Israel” (Gen 34:1–36:43)   145A Sister Is Violated (Gen 34:1-12)   145Dinah’s Honor Avenged (Gen 34:13-31)   147Return to Bethel (Gen 35:1-15)   149Wives and Concubines (Gen 35:16-29)   150The Edomites (Gen 36:1-43)   152Contemporary Reading: Honor and Shame   153Joseph (Gen 37:1–50:26)   155Chapter 15: “Family History” (Gen 37:1–38:30)   157The Dreamer (Gen 37:1-11)   157Human Trafficking (Gen 37:12-36)   158A Widow in Her Father’s House (Gen 38:1-11)   160On the Road to Timnah (Gen 38:12-30)   161Contemporary Reading: Human Exploitation   163Chapter 16: “This Is Its Interpretation” (Gen 39:1–41:57)   165In the House of Potiphar (Gen 39:1-20)   165The Interpreter of Dreams (Gen 39:21–40:23)   167Pharaoh’s Dream (Gen 41:1-32)   170Second in the Land (Gen 41:33-57)   171Contemporary Reading: God Lifts Up   174Chapter 17: “God Sent Me Here ahead of You” (Gen 42:1–45:28)   175The Trip to Egypt (Gen 42:1-24)   175Return to Canaan (Gen 42:25-38)   177A Second Trip to Egypt (Gen 43:1-34)   178The Test (Gen 44:1-34)   180The Truth Is Revealed (Gen 45:1-28)   182Contemporary Reading: Suspicion   184Chapter 18: “They Came into Egypt” (Gen 46:1–47:27)   185The Family in Egypt (Gen 46:1–47:12)   185Egypt’s Agrarian Policy (Gen 47:13-27)   188Contemporary Reading: Management or Exploitation?   190Chapter 19: “I Am about to Be Gathered to My People” (Gen 47:28–50:26)   191Adoption and Blessing (Gen 47:28–48:22)   191Last Testament (Gen 49:1-28)   193Death and Burial (Gen 49:29–50:26)   196Contemporary Reading: Left Out   198Works Consulted   201Subject Index   211

In many programs of Bible study for adults, the tendency to want to reduce the biblical text to a simple and familiar message looms large. In her book Genesis: In The Beginning, Dianne Bergant does what she does so well: she keeps before the reader the many and varied elements that must be employed when approaching the Bible for understanding. Although not intended as a book for adult Bible study, the point is made that if one wishes to advance beyond a simple reading, the serious learner must come to realize the text cannot be separated from the world that produced it. The reader must take into account how that 'world behind the text' and the 'world of the text' provide the necessary context for being able to discover meaning in this living word of God that has relevance for us today.Barbara Shanahan, Director of the Catholic Biblical School, Buffalo, New York