Random Thoughts on the Priestly Narratives in Genesis
September 3, 2010
I’m considering the priestly narratives in the the first half of Genesis. What is their point? How would they ‘preach’ to the ancient primary hearers and re-readers?
Genesis 1 – Why we keep the Sabbath
Genesis 6 – No mixed marriages
Genesis 9 – Don’t eat meat with blood in it
Genesis 17 – Circumcision and covenant
So there you go, random thoughts as I sit in the library. In three of the four narratives you have the ‘boundary markers’: Sabbath, circumcision, and food law, and in the other you have no mixed marriages. There were just a couple of dudes who this was an issue for post exile!
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Is there a parallel between these headings and the directions to Gentile Christians in Acts?
Nice post Scott. And in response to Chris E’s comment, I think it is interesting that the directives to Gentile Christians in Acts 15 seem to be influenced by the regulations that both Israel and foreigners had to obey in Lev 17-18. This seems like a compromise solution so that Torah observant Jews (including circumcision, food laws, etc) could have equal table fellowship with non-Jews.
Thanks Mike. Chris, no intended parallel, but these are practices that were religiously observed and discussed in Acts so I guess you could draw one just in the sense that they were religious practices employed over a varied amount of time and alluded to in one text and explicitly discussed in another. And what Mike said.