Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Ian Hutchesson" <mc2499 AT mclink.it>]

>Ian, I agree with you that there are six days of creation described in
>the structure you outline here. And I agree with you that the first of
>those days was probably not creation ex nihilo, that matter had somehow
>come into being outside that structure of six days. 

Why do you think it had to come into being? And that 
outside the six days of creation? which I have pointed 
out before renders the inauguration of the Sabbath 
meaningless.

>What I am suggesting
>as at least possible is that verse 1 is a brief account, outside and
>apart from that structure of six days, of how that undifferentiated,
>chaotic matter came into being.

The text doesn't say this.

>Several books of the Hebrew Bible (but not Genesis) start with WAYYIQTOL
>verbs. But they are part of an ongoing narrative history of Israel and
>start with the next significant event in that history. 

Such as Ezekiel.

>A friend of mine
>has written a paper, which may be published shortly, on how the books of
>the Bible fit together in a framework using such verb forms and other
>discourse markers. Niccacci wrote something similar a few years ago, in
>Italian I think but that shouldn't be a problem for you.

Thanks, Peter, I'll see if I can find it.


Ian