Source Criticism and Narrative Criticism of Genesis - Essay Example

Source Criticism and Narrative Criticism of Genesis I. Introduction It is important to note that by tradition, the Pentateuch, of which Genesis was among them, was considered to be written by Moses alone, hence it was also called as the Book of Moses. The inconsistencies in the Genesis however, which includes duplication of text, different writing style, anachronism and usage of varying terms in the Genesis among them, led scholars to investigate both the source and narratives of Genesis. II. Source criticism of Genesis A close examination on the Pentateuch, which includes the Genesis by scholars begun in the eighteenth Century which led them to conclude that the Pentateuch, including the Genesis is not written by a single author, or by Moses alone as the traditional thinking suggests, but rather by an anthology of diverse materials; hence the source criticism. According to Carvalho, “source criticism looks for evidence that an author has used written sources in the production of a new text. It does this by looking at repetitions, changes in style, variations in vocabulary, and other such evidence that would result from an author combining previously written sources to create a new text” (3). Evidences that Pentateuch is not written by a single author (source criticism) Carvalho in her  Primer on Biblical Methods (4) cited one source inconsistency in Genesis where in Genesis 6:3, God limits human life to 120 years, but Abraham lives to 175 (Gen 25:17) and Sarah to 127 (Gen 23:1). This inconsistency however is not just limited to age but even on the Name of the Supreme Being Himself suggesting that there were different mindsets with a different parallel universe wrote the Genesis. In Genesis 1:12:4b, the Supreme Being was addressed as Elohim whereas in Genesis 2:4b-3:24, the Supreme Being was addressed as YHWH. The same God is called with different names. The contextual placement of the narrative (for narrative criticism) was also different from each other which further suggest that the text came from different perspectives. In Genesis 1:1-2:4b where God was called Elohim, God was characterized as majestic, distant and cosmic and does not interact with man. In Genesis 2:4b-3:24 where God was called YHWH however, God is more personal and interactive as He was walking around the Garden and even talks to people. III. Narrative Criticism Narrative criticism is another method to evaluate the contextual integrity of the Bible.  Narrative criticism invites the reader to assess the work as a whole and to note its stylistic characteristics which resemble those of other literary works with a beginning, a middle, and an end (Browning). We can best illustrate this inconsistency in the Genesis using the narrative criticism by taking into account the creation. There were basically two narratives of the creation in Genesis which sounds almost the same but close scrutiny of the narrative reveals its inconsistency. To be specific, the inconsistencies of creation were in Genesis 1:25-27 and Genesis 2:18-19. In the first account where the days were clearly specified, human beings were created after the creation of other animals in the planet. It thus read; And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and everything that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let us make man in our image.... So God created man in His own image and likeness (Genesis 1:25-27). In the second account of the Genesis however, human beings were created first before the animals were created. Unlike in the first account where human beings were created AFTER the animals, in the second account, human beings PRECEDED the creation of other animals. It thus read; And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof (Genesis 2:18-19). IV. Conclusion: Theological Significance of the Analysis The purpose of both source criticism and narrative criticism is to understand more the meaning behind what the author wrote, the exact words that were written and how the specific words or texts were taken at the time it was written in the Bible. Asking the how, why, by whom, for whom and the circumstances around when the Genesis was written makes us understand the creation and the Genesis in general, more. For example, determining that God was called with different names like Elohim and YHWH suggests different authorship and perspective and more especially different circumstances on how the Genesis was written. The first theological significance we can infer to this is that we know now that contrary to what tradition suggests, Moses may not have written the Genesis. Second, accepting that there were different authors of the Genesis lead us to understand more the circumstances of those who may have written it and reinforce our initial understanding of them. Take for example the word Elohim and its circumstances. When it was written, it was very conscious about hierarchy and structure where God was depicted as Somebody distant, cosmic and magnificent. Given these circumstances, it gives us a hint that it may have been written by a priest due to its familiarity with hierarchy and the magnificent and cosmic assessment of God instead of being a more personal one. Considering these factors, we now understand that God indeed manifested itself to man and the shortcoming of man’s chronicling or recording of His manifestation reinforces its authenticity. For what is questioned is the reliability of the record and the circumstances when it was chronicled but not the existence of God itself. References: Carvalho, Corinne L. PhD. “Primer on Biblical Methods”. Anselm Academic, United States, 1993. W. R. F. BROWNING. "narrative criticism." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Retrieved November 07, 2011 from Encyclopedia.com:http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-narrativecriticism.html Read More