International Exegetical Commentary on
the Old Testament (IECOT)
Edited by:
Walter Dietrich, David M. Carr, Adele Berlin, Erhard Blum, Irmtraud Fischer, Shimon Gesundheit, Walter Groß, Gary Knoppers (†), Bernard M. Levinson, Ed Noort, Helmut Utzschneider and Beate Ego (Apocrypha/Deuterocanonical books)
Cover:
Top: Panel from a four-part relief on the “Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III” (859–824 BCE) depicting the Israelite king Jehu (845–817 BCE; 2 Kings 9f) paying obeisance to the Assyrian “King of Kings.” The vassal has thrown himself to the ground in front of his overlord. Royal servants are standing behind the Assyrian king whereas Assyrian officers are standing behind Jehu. The remaining picture panels portray thirteen Israelite tribute bearers carrying heavy and precious gifts. Photo © Z.Radovan/BibleLandPictures.com Bottom left: One of ten reliefs on the bronze doors that constitute the eastern portal (the so-called “Gates of Paradise”) of the Baptistery of St. John of Florence, created 1424–1452 by Lorenzo Ghiberti (c. 1378–1455). Detail from the picture “Adam and Eve”; in the center is the creation of Eve: “And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.” (Gen 2:22)Photograph by George ReaderBottom right: Detail of the Menorah in front of the Knesset in Jerusalem, created by Benno Elkan (1877–1960): Ezra reads the Law of Moses to the assembled nation (Neh 8). The bronze Menorah was created in London in 1956 and in the same year was given by the British as a gift to the State of Israel. A total of 29 reliefs portray scenes from the Hebrew bible and the history of the Jewish people.
David M. Carr
Genesis 1–11
Verlag W. Kohlhammer
1. Edition 2021
All rights reserved
© W. Kohlhammer GmbH, Stuttgart
Production: W. Kohlhammer GmbH, Stuttgart
Print:
ISBN 978-3-17-020623-6
E-Book-Formate:
pdf: ISBN 978-3-17-037512-3
epub: ISBN 978-3-17-037513-0
mobi: ISBN 978-3-17-037514-7
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This commentary offers a synthesis of close readings of Genesis 1-11 and up-to-date study of the formation of these chapters in their ancient Near Eastern context. Each interpretation of these evocative and multilayered narratives is preceded with a new translation (with textual and philological commentary) and a concise overview of the ways in which each text bears the marks of its shaping over time. This prepares for a close reading that draws on the best of older and newer exegetical insights into these chapters, a reading that then connects to feminist, queer, ecocritical, and other contemporary approaches.
David M. Carr is Professor of Old Testament at the Union Theological Seminary, New York.
Content
Editors’ Foreword
Preface and Acknowledgements
Introduction to the Commentary
Initial Overview of the Contents and Literary Patterns in Gen 1–11
Major Themes in the History of Interpretation of Gen 1:1–6:4
Major Contours of the Diachronic Background to Gen 1–11
Ancient Non-Biblical Precursors
The Character of Mesopotamian Primeval Texts and Traditions
The Limited Usefulness of the ‘Creation’ Category for Reading Gen 1–11
Literary Stages in the Formation of Gen 1–11
P, Non-P, and Models for their Relationship
Layers and Dating of the Pre-P Primeval History
Layers and Dating in the Priestly Levels of the Primeval History
Early Textual Transmission of Gen 1–11: The Three Major Traditions
Moving to Commentary
Genesis 1:1–2:3: The Seven Day Creation Account
Notes on Text and Translation
Diachronic Prologue
Genesis 1:1–2:3 as Priestly and Its Relations to Gen 2:4b–3:24
Separate Precursors to Gen 1:1–2:3: The Enuma Elish Epic and Psalm 104
The Question of Stratification within Gen 1:1–2:3 Itself
Synchronic Analysis
Overview of Gen 1:3–31
Commentary
Conclusion: Divergent Patterns Spanning Gen 1:1–2:3
Synthesis
Genesis 2:4–3:24: The Origins of Adult Human Life in the Garden of Eden
Notes on Text and Translation
Diachronic Prologue
Genesis 2:4a as a Conflational Superscription
Genesis 2:4b–3:24 (Gen 2–3) as a Pre-Priestly Creation Narrative
Non-Biblical (Mesopotamian) Precursors to Gen 2–3
Other Precursors to Gen 2–3
Synchronic Analysis
Overview
Commentary
Temporal Placement
Genesis 2:4b–17: Scene One in the Concentric Structure(cf. Scene Seven in 3:22–24)
Genesis 2:18–25: Scene Two in the Concentric Structure (cf. Scene Six, 3:14–21)
Genesis 3:1–5: Scene Three in the Concentric Structure(cf. Scene Five, 3:8–13)
Genesis 3:6–7: Scene Four, The Central Scene in the Concentric Structure
Genesis 3:8–13: Scene Five in the Concentric Structure(cf. Scene Three, 3:8–13)
Genesis 3:14–21: Scene Six in the Concentric Structure(cf. especially Scene Two, 2:18–25)
Genesis 3:22–24: Scene Seven in the Concentric Structure(cf. Scene One, 2:4b–17)
Conclusion
