While it is not at all possible to date the beginning of the world, the dating of events during the life of the patriarchs can be determined with reasonable accuracy with respect to modern reckoning. The events recorded in Genesis span from the creation of the world until the death of Joseph. Time period of historical events and composition Date of events Yet it is clear that the intended audience was to extend to all future generations of the elect seed of Abraham who would be born under the Mosaic covenant (see, Deut 29:14–15). RecipientsĪs discussed in the Introduction to the Pentateuch, the most immediate recipients of the Book of Genesis would likely have been the Exodus generation. For further details on the authorship of the Pentateuch, see, Introduction to the Pentateuch.
Thus, Mosaic authorship of Genesis may be established on the basis of its unity with the other books of the Pentateuch and on the basis of the outstanding qualifications that Moses had for writing such a book which is foundational to an understanding of the remainder of the Pentateuch. Yet the NT, in attributing the Pentateuch as a whole to Moses, would seem to imply Mosaic authorship for Genesis as it does for Exodus through Deuteronomy. It would seem that, as argued in the Introduction to the Pentateuch, the core and substance of the books of the Pentateuch from Exodus to Deuteronomy are the work of Moses. This is seen from his first written records of the curse against Amalek (Exod 17:14) and the book of the Sinai covenant (Exod 24:3–7) to the writing and safekeeping of his initial exposition of the law (Deut 31:24–26). Portions of the Pentateuch record the strategic role Moses played in its making. While the NT speaks of the Law as 'Moses' or the 'books' or 'law' of Moses, it nowhere points specifically to Genesis by itself in these terms. Both internal and external evidence is lacking to reasonably establish the author of Genesis.
The authorship of the Book of Genesis is, like the authorship of the other books of the Pentateuch, anonymous. The aim of this analysis is to consider aspects of the context in which the book of Genesis was written, such as its authorship, recipients, time period of historical events and composition, and its biblical context, which may be useful in understanding the book as a whole. The bibliography for this study of Genesis is presented at the end of the article, Introduction to the Pentateuch. An abbreviated version of this work entitled, Biblical Hermeneutics and a Methodology for Studying the Bible will be posted on. The analysis and synthesis approach to biblical studies applied here to Genesis is a methodology developed by the author (DeCanio, 2007) in conjunction with his doctoral studies at the University of South Africa.
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