The Call of Abraham: Essays on the Election of Israel in Honor of Jon D. Levenson

Chapter 1: Election in Genesis 1

7 c H a P T e r 1 R election in Genesis 1 r i c h a r d j . c l i f f o r d , s . j . Genesis 1:1–2:4 (hereafter Gen 1) is a composition of the Priestly source (P), a source that has among its interests Israel’s distinctive public worship and the chronology of events in the story of the human race and of Israel. The P preamble to the Pentateuch, Gen 1, narrates the coming into being of heaven and earth (the hebrew idiom for the universe), an event that took place long before the origin of Israel in the person of its ancestors abraham,Isaac,and Jacob.one would expect therefore that P, given its care for chronology, would in Gen 1 have studiously avoided anachronistic references to Israel, and especially to its liturgical life, which for P began at mount Sinai (exod 19–Num 10). This article explores the surprising fact that Gen 1 contains covert references to several defining features of Israel, viz., the Sabbath, the temple, the dietary laws, and the conquest. Despite its care for proper chronology, P evidently shared the ancient conviction that 8 Richard J. Clifford, S.J. important elements of the world “were there from the beginning” and acquired their significance at their origin.If one may borrow from computer language, P’s references to Israel are “locked” in the disk of Gen 1 and are accessible only to those possessing the required code. If allusions to Israel are indeed locked in Gen 1, the fact has implications for the meaning of election in the bible.The Gen 1 allusions to Israel have been read in at least two ways. according to the first, Gen 1 is communicating to insiders that God’s real interest in creating the world was Israel; others nations are mentioned, but they are present only as backdrop and audience for God’s business with Israel. according to the second, the foreshadowing means that from the beginning there existed a complementarity between the elect nation and the other nations. The tasks and hopes of Israel and the nations, respectively, might be differently expressed and differently timed,but they are closely related. Israel is an example of a nation doing important things in its own way while sharing the experience and aspirations of other nations. TwO Preliminary cOmmenTs On THe Gen 1 cOsmOGOny Genre and structure like many ancient Near eastern cosmogonies, Gen 1 is introductory, preparing readers to appreciate the great literary work that follows. as mark Smith points out, “the placement of Genesis 1 at the very beginning of the bible stakes a claim, asserting the primary status of its account over and above other biblical versions of creation.”1 Given the pronounced theocentrism and traditionalism of the ancient Near east, scribes assumed that the meaning of a reality was clearest at the moment of its creation, when God’s imprint, so to speak, was freshest and most visible.Gen 1 lets the reader know what to look for in the vast and compendious Pentateuch, not only in the primeval history, but in Gen 12–50, and indeed in the entire Pentateuch. one of the most striking features of Gen 1 is its seven-day structure .That structure can help us see the introductory function of Gen 1. The six days on which God works are arranged in matching panels (days 1–3 and 4–6), with God’s day of cessation from work placed out- election in Genesis 1 9 side the series in the climactic seventh spot. (See table below.) with qualifications that we will discuss below, days 1–3 depict the creation of the domains of sea, sky, and earth, and days 4–6, the creation of their mobile inhabitants, classified according to their means of locomotion— wings flapping in the sky, fins propelling (ramaś) through the sea, animals crawling with legs (ramaś) or walking on all fours on land. In the perspective of Gen 1, life is concretized as movement; what moves on its own power is alive. Days 4–6 display the energy permeating the universe . Day 7, however, is a reminder of the text’s profound theocentrism , drawing attention to the creator rather than the creation. The Pre-creation State (1:1–2) Panel I: Creation of Static Domains Panel II: Creation of Their mobile occupants Day 1...