The
book of Genesis tells the story of humanity from its origins. It teaches us
where we come from… and it is not from the monkeys. We were created by God,
made in his image. We were created with a purpose.
The
main theme of the book of Genesis may be summed up on the following verse:
(Gen.
5:1) This is the BOOK OF THE
GENERATIONS of Adam. When God created
man, he made him in the likeness of God.
Why is it so important to know where we come from? Because
this knowledge gives us identity. If we know where we come from, we will know
who we are and where we are headed.
TWO SECTIONS
The
book of Genesis is divided in two general sections.
I.
UNIVERSAL SECTION (Gen. 1 à 11) —Creation of all humanity
This
section speaks of the origin of humanity in general, without singling out a
particular people. It makes a special mention of Noah, because through him
humanity would be preserved from the great flood. The 70 NATIONS that come from
his three sons represent ALL humanity.
II.
PARTICULAR SECTION (Gen. 12 à 50) The election of the Patriarchs
This
section focuses in the formation of a SPECIAL NATION: the people of Israel
SETTING ACCORDING TO THE
“GENERATIONS”
The
genealogies or “generations” (Hebrew “Toladot”)
establish a setting for the book of Genesis:
Chapter GENERATIONS tells
the story of...
5-9
Adam to Noah The Generation of the Flood
10-11 Sons
of Noah (70 nations) Tower of Babel
11
From Shem to Terah The Patriarch Abraham
11-25 Terah to Abraham Abraham
& Isaac Elected
25
Ishmael Ishmael is
Separated
25-35 Isaac Isaac
and his sons Jacob and Esau
36
Esau Esau is
Separated
37-50 Jacob Jacob and his 12 sons
Each
of these general themes of the book of Genesis begins with the presentation of
a genealogy (toladot), introduced by
the phase: “These
are the generations of…”(ayleh
toldot…).
Even
if it seems amazing, even the story of the Garden of Eden (chapters 2 and 3) is
introduced by a genealogy (toladot):
(Gen. 2:4)
These
are the generations (toladot)
of the heavens
and the earth when they were created…
In
essence, the Genealogies represent the columns that hold together and connect
the story of the Genesis narration, from beginning to end.
“Genealogy”
or “Generation” is the translation of the Hebrew Word “Toladot”, which comes from the root word “vlad” meaning “child”.
“Ayleh toldot” (these are the
generations) could therefore be translated: “these are the children of…”
Some
genealogies in Genesis are very short, and simply inform us of the fact that
someone lived, married, had children and died. Yet, others are very detailed.
THE MISSING VAV
The first time the
Hebrew word “toladot” (generations)
appears in the Bible is in Genesis 2:4. In the original Hebrew, this word is
spelled with two letters “VAV”
(transliterated: T-V-L-D-V-T). What makes it interesting is that, after the fall of man, every time
this word appears again in the Bible, it is missing a “vav”.
תולדות
תולדת
However, this missing
“vav” reappears in another book of the Bible… in Ruth 4:18, when it describes
the lineage of King David.
(Ruth 4:18) Now these are the GENERATIONS (T-I-L-D-I-T ) OF PEREZ: Perez fathered Hezron, Hezron fathered Ram, Ram
fathered Amminadab, Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, Salmon
fathered BOAZ, Boaz fathered Obed, Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered
DAVID.
This is not just a coincidence, because the Messiah comes from the
lineage of David, and he will restore and redeem humanity, and will bring the
earth to its original state.
During our study of
Genesis we will discover many hidden treasures…
Great studies! Thank you and God bless you!!
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