Original Readers of Genesis (Part Two)

Luke 24:27

“And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. “

In a previous Creation Moment, we discussed how some modern theistic evolutionists, such as those represented on the BioLogos website, maintain that Genesis would have been understood by its original readers as being an allegory of the expulsion of Israel from the Promised Land, reflected in the expulsion of Adam from the Garden. This interpretation presupposes that the original readers of Genesis would have been exiled Jews living in Babylon. However, as biblical creationists, we deny this presupposition.

Taking the view that Scripture is best interpreted by Scripture, we notice that Jesus had something important to say about Genesis. He believed Genesis was written by Moses. For example, after His resurrection, Jesus, speaking to those disciples on the road to Emmaus, said “Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”

So the original readers of the entire book of Genesis would have been contemporaries of Moses – long before the Exile. In fact, the original readers of portions of Genesis could have been even earlier. Many scholars suggest that Moses edited Genesis from a series of so-called Toledoths handed down. These are the sections in Genesis, beginning with the words “these are the generations of...” – in Hebrew, the Toledoth of Adam, Seth, etc. Genesis should not, therefore, be interpreted as a Babylonian myth, as the earliest readers predated even the Tower of Babel.

Prayer: Thank You, Lord, that You have always made Yourself known to people, right from the beginning of Creation. Amen.

Ref: Morris, H. (revised 2012), The Henry Morris Study Bible, (Green Forest, AR: Master Books), comment on Genesis 5:1, page 29. Image: Emmaus, by Claudia Hesse, Adobe Stock Images, licensed to author.

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