Biblical Hebrew Forum

[K Randolph <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>]

Nir:

On Tue, Aug 28, 2012 at 6:51 AM, Nir cohen - Prof. Mat. 
<nir AT ccet.ufrn.br>wrote:

> karl,
>
> in case of gen 1:1 i must side with jerry, since at that point in
> the story the sky was still not separated from the land, hence
> still did not exist, making 1:1 NECESSARILY a summary of the entire
> chapter.


What? From the sounds of it, there were multiple places that were included
in the appellation of “heavens” שמים and at least one of which was present
in Genesis 1:1.

Though I can see your point, namely that this first verse carries the big
picture, and as we get further into the chapter, more and more details come
out.

But is that accurate? As it stands, we have the original creation, where
“The earth came into being lifeless and still, and darkness upon the face
of the deep and God’s spirit resting upon the face of the waters.” The rest
of the chapter adding motion and life.


> consider also:
>
> Genesis Chapter 22 בְּרֵאשִׁית
> א  וַיְהִי, אַחַר הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה, וְהָאֱלֹהִים, נִסָּה
> אֶת-אַבְרָהָם; וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו, אַבְרָהָם וַיֹּאמֶר
> הִנֵּנִי.       1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did
> prove Abraham,
> and said unto him: 'Abraham'; and he said: 'Here am I.'
>
> here, too, "god proved abraham" is a summary of the entire chapter, while
> "and
> said to him" is already the starting point of the more detailed narrative.
>

This one is a continuation from what happened before, it was not a
stand-alone narrative. “God tested Abraham and this is how…” Don’t let the
modern division into chapters and verses fool you.


> consider also:
>
> Genesis Chapter 10 בְּרֵאשִׁית
> א  וְאֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת בְּנֵי-נֹחַ, שֵׁם חָם וָיָפֶת; וַיִּוָּלְדוּ לָהֶם
> בָּנִים, אַחַר הַמַּבּוּל.     1 Now these are
> the generations of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth; and unto them
> were sons born after the flood.
>

The present division of chapters and verses came millennia after these
words were written. What is now put at the beginning of a section, may show
incorrect positioning contrary to the desires of the original authors.
Consider Genesis 6:9 and 37:2.

>
> "these are the generations..." is a summary, "and unto them..." is already
> part of the detailed narrative.
>

What makes you think that the following list was part of the original
document, and not added by a later author?

>
> etc etc
> nir cohen
>

Stylistically, Genesis 2:4 is the closing of Genesis 1. (Literary style)
You may want to say that the first verse is an introduction, with 2:4 the
closing, like the quotation marks around a quote. But it makes just as much
sense, if not more sense, merely as the first step in a multi-step process.

Karl W. Randolph.

>
> >> karl: There was a very ancient literary style in which the titular or
> summary
> statement was at the end of a chapter or document, not the beginning. I’m
> not the only one, but others, too, have noted that Genesis can be broken up
> into several such chapters, with the summary “This is the bringing forth…”
> as the closing statement. That makes the summary, titular verse of Genesis
> 1 to be Genesis 2:4.
>
>
> > De: Jerry Shepherd <jshepherd53 AT gmail.com>
> Para: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
> Data: Fri, 24 Aug 2012 20:29:55 -0600
> Assunto: Re: [b-hebrew] Circle חוג
>
> (2)  Ancient literary style also had titular and summary statements at the
> beginning of the account as well; and this also true in many places of
> Hebrew narrative.
>
>