2:4b
Alter: “On the day the Lord God made earth and heavens . . .”
Fisher: “On another day when Yahweh-Elohim was about to make earth and heaven . . .”
Fox: “At the time of YHWH, God’s making of earth and heaven . . .”
I cannot understand Fox’s “At the time of YHWH . . .”
28:20
Alter: “. . .If the Lord God be with me . . .”
Fisher: “If Elohim will be with me . . .”
Fox: “If God will be with me . . .”
It is difficult to understand Alter’s translation. There is no word for “Lord” in the Hebrew text. There is the verb “to be,” which looks something like Yahweh, and Alter does translate Yahweh as “Lord.” (The double name does not occur in this section of Genesis. Also see Alter’s note to 35:3.)
35:7
Alter: “. . . for there God was revealed to him . . .”
Fisher: “. . . for there the gods were revealed to him . . .”
Fox: “. . . For there had the power-of-God been revealed to him . . .”
Fox understands that there is a problem because of the plural form of the verb, but he does not really deal with the problem.
48:16
Alter: “. . . let my name be called in them and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac . . .”
Fisher: “. . . My name and the names of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, shall be called forth by them.”
Fox: “. . . May my name continue to be called through them and the name of my fathers, Avraham and Yitzhak!”
I do not know what Alter’s translation means. Fox’s translation is better, but it is still lacking. My translation assumes a ritual context (see above). The names of the fathers are called forth, or in other words, the fathers are summoned during a ritual for the dead. It was in this context that the stories of the fathers were told, stories that were later incorporated into the Book of Genesis. This is a very important point to consider.
Chart One
Section Headings in the Final Form of Genesis
1. These are the stories of the heavens and the earth since their formation (Gen 2:4a).
2. This is the document of the stories of Adam (Gen 5:1a).
3. These are the stories of Noah (Gen 6:9a).
4. These are the stories of the sons of Noah (10:1a).
5. These are the stories of Shem (11:10a).
6. These are the stories of Terah (11:27a).*
7. These are the stories of Ishmael (25:12a).
8. These are the stories of Isaac (25:19a).*
9. These are the stories of Esau (36:1).
10. These are the stories of Jacob (37:2a).*
*Major cycles of the fathers (see Chart Two for details).
Chart Two
The Three Major Cycles of the Fathers plus Fragments
6. These are the stories of Terah (Gen 11:27—25:11).
(Stories about Abraham)
Missing: These are the stories of Abraham.
(Stories about Isaac—the material in Genesis 24 and 26 could be from this missing cycle.)
8. These are the stories of Isaac (Gen 25:19—35:29).
(Stories about Jacob)
10. These are the stories of Jacob (Gen 37:2—50:26).
(Stories about Joseph)
Plus: These are the stories of Judah (Genesis 38).
(Stories about Perez—Genesis 38 is just the beginning of this cycle.)
Plus: These are the stories of Perez (Ruth 4:18–22).
The Final Form of Genesis
S1:G1–256 The Seven Days, 1:1—2:3
G1 The Formation of the Cosmos, 1:1–31
G1.1 Let there be light, 1:1–5
G1.2 Let there be a vault, 1:6–8
G1.3 Let there be seas, land, and vegetation, 1:9–13
G1.4 Let there be lights, 1:14–19
G1.5 Let there be creatures of the sea and air, 1:20–23
G1.6 Let there be creatures of the land and humans, 1:24–31
G2 The Seventh Day, 2:1–3
S2:G3–9 These are the Stories of Heaven and Earth since their formation, 2:4—4:26
Title, 2:4a
G3 Yahweh-Elohim formed the human, 2:4b–7
G4 The garden and its keeper, 2:8–17
G4.1 Yahweh-Elohim planted a garden, 2:8–9
G4.2 The rivers, 2:10–14
G4.3 The human becomes the keeper, 2:15–17
G5 Yahweh-Elohim forms others; the human is not alone, 2:18–24
G6 Wise but mortal humans, 2:25—3:24
G6.1 Naked and knowing, 2:25—3:7
G6.2 The naked and mortal are clothed, 3:8–21
G6.3 Sent from the garden to till the ground, 3:22–24
G7 Cain and Abel, 4:1–16
G8 Cities and Culture, 4:17–24
G9 The birth of Seth, 4:25–26
S3:G10–13 This is the Document of the Stories of Adam, 5:1—6:8
Title, 5:1a
G10 The making of human beings, 5:1b–2
G11 From Adam to Noah, 5:3–32
G12 The Sages, 6:1–4
G13
