======================================================================== GEN 1 - 11 by Gen 1 ======================================================================== A biblical commentary providing an overview of the Book of Genesis chapters 1-11, covering the major narrative sections including creation, Adam and Eve, the Fall, Cain and Abel, the genealogies from Adam to Noah, the Great Flood, and the Tower of Babel leading to Abraham's story. Chapters: 10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ TABLE OF CONTENTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. 03 Introduction 2. 04 Genesis Overview 3. 05 Observations on the overview of Genesis 4. 06 Main Points in Chapters 1 - 11 5. 07 Specific points in Genesis 1 - 11 6. 08 Genesis 1 – 11 references in other parts of the Bible 7. 09 Conclusion 8. 10 Appendix A – establishing dates from creation to the temple 9. 11 Appendix B – overview of short and long chronologies 10. 12 Appendix C – Table of Nations ======================================================================== CHAPTER 1: 03 INTRODUCTION ======================================================================== Introduction This study will look at Genesis chapters one to eleven from a Biblical perspective based on the following verses being true. If this premise is not accepted, then it would be prudent to look at that issue prior to going through this study. “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture isa matterof one’s own interpretation,for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (2Pe 1:20-21) “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;” (2Ti 3:16) See also (Mat 15:6, John 10:35, Acts 17:11, Mark 12:24, 1Th 2:13, 2Ti 4:2, John 17:7, Is 40:8, 1Pe 1:25) Jesus’ use of Scripture indicates that He viewed it as absolutely authoritative: (Mat 4:4; Mat 4:7; Mat 4:10; Mat 12:3; Mat 19:4; Mat 21:16; Mat 21:42; Mat 22:29; Mat 26:31; Mark 2:25; Mark 9:12; Mark 12:24; Mark 14:27; Luk 4:4; Luk 4:8; Luk 4:12; Luk 6:3; Luk 20:17; Luk 24:25; Luk 24:27; John 10:34; John 19:28) Jesus said to them, "Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not understand the Scriptures or the power of God? (Mark 12:24) The context for the writing of Genesis is: The Israelites have just left Egypt where God, through powerful signs and wonders has taken them out of slavery. (1446 BC) The Egyptians had their own gods and creation stories. The land that they were going to possess had their own gods and idols. Mesopotamia, where Abraham and his family came from, also had other gods and creation stories. The Israelites have received the covenant with God and were to serve Him alone. The first section will just be an overview of all of Genesis. After this, chapters one to eleven will be looked at in more detail. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 2: 04 GENESIS OVERVIEW ======================================================================== Genesis Overview Gen 1:1toGen 2:3 A summary of the days of creation to God resting on the seventh day. Gen 2:4-25 An account of the creation of the plants, animals, Adam and Eve. Gen 3:1-19 The deception of Eve and the sin of Adam. Entry of evil, suffering, death and toil. Knowledge of good and evil. Gen 3:20-24 Expulsion from the garden of Eden. Gen 4:1-16 Cain and Abel are born. Cain kills Abel. Gen 4:17-26 Account of Cain and descendants. Birth of Seth. Gen 5:1-32 Book of the generations of Adam. Genealogy from Adam to Noah and his sons . Gen 6:1-17 Mankind has become so corrupt that God is going to destroy the land animals and birds with a flood. Gen 6:9toGen 9:29 Records of the generations of Noah. Account of Noah’s life. Institution of the death penalty for murder. Gen 7:6toGen 8:13 Flood account. Gen 10:1toGen 11:9 Records of the sons of Noah. The dispersion from the tower of Babel. Gen 11:10-26 Records of the generations of Shem. Gen 11:27-32 Records of the generations of Terah. Gen 12:1toGen 25:10 Record of Abraham’s life. Move from Haran to Canaan. Promise of God to Abraham that his descendants would possess the land of Canaan and that God would make nations of his descendants. The covenant of circumcision is established. Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Birth of Isaac. Gen 21:3toGen 35:29 Life of Isaac. Testing of Abraham regarding Isaac. Gen 25:12-17 Records of the generations of Ishmael. Gen 25:19toGen 35:29 Records of the generations of Isaac. Birth of Esau and Jacob. Gen 36:1toGen 37:1 Records of the generations of Esau. Gen 37:1toGen 50:26 Records of the generations of Jacob. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 3: 05 OBSERVATIONS ON THE OVERVIEW OF GENESIS ======================================================================== Observations on the overview of Genesis Generations There are 13 passages in Genesis that have the Hebrew word tôlĕdôt. This word is translated “account” or “generation” and is defined as: [תּוֹלֵדוֹת] n.f.pl. generations, esp. in genealogies = account of a man and his descendants — a.account of men and their descendants; successive generations (in) of families; genealogical divisions, by parentage. b. metaph. תּוֹלְדוֹת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְהָאָרֶץ lit. begettings of heaven and earth, i.e. account of heaven and earth and that which proceeded from them.1 It is used in the following verses in the book of Genesis: “This is theaccountof the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven.” (Gen 2:4) “This is the book of thegenerationsof Adam. In the day when God created man, He made him in the likeness of God.” (Gen 5:1) “These arethe records ofthegenerationsof Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.” (Gen 6:9) “Now these arethe records ofthegenerationsof Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah; and sons were born to them after the flood.” (Gen 10:1) “These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to theirgenealogies, by their nations; and out of these the nations were separated on the earth after the flood.” (Gen 10:32) “These arethe records ofthegenerationsof Shem. Shem was one hundred years old, and became the father of Arpachshad two years after the flood;” (Gen 11:10) “Now these arethe records ofthegenerationsof Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran; and Haran became the father of Lot.” (Gen 11:27) “Now these arethe records ofthegenerationsof Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maid, bore to Abraham;and these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael, and Kedar and Adbeel and Mibsam” (Gen 25:12-13) “Now these arethe records ofthegenerationsof Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham became the father of Isaac;” (Gen 25:19) “Now these arethe records ofthegenerationsof Esau (that is, Edom).” (Gen 36:1) “These then arethe records ofthegenerationsof Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir.” (Gen 36:9) “These arethe records ofthegenerationsof Jacob.Joseph, when seventeen years of age, was pasturing the flock with his brothers while he wasstilla youth, along with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father.” (Gen 37:2) Overall sense The overall sense of Genesis is that it is a historical account that primarily follows the history from creation to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as the patriarchs of Israel. God included the information that He wanted us to have according to His Divine purposes just as any author includes the information that serves his purposes. (Is 45:9-12) It establishes the reasons for The existence of everything. The worship of God. The attributes of God. Suffering, death and Evil. Genders. Marriage. Weeds and toiling. Relationships between men and women. Different people groups and languages. Knowledge of good and evil. Reproduction of plants and animals. Judgement for evil. Death penalty for murder. While there is a bit of information on other peoples or events, this is not the primary focus. The “table of nations” in Genesis 10, 11 primarily provides us with the ancestorial lineage from Noah to Abraham. It also includes a couple of generations of Japheth’s descendants. There is a bit more information on the descendants of Ham, since these were the ones that were the primary people that they would be interacting with. It would appear that one of the purposes of Genesis is to relate the truth about creation, God and all that we see around us, while refuting the false belief systems of the nations around them. It also provides the background for the future nation of Israel and some detail on their ancestors. God’s covenant with Abraham is the basis for the other books of Moses. Type of literature The whole of Genesis is written as a historical narrative account as is evidenced by all the records of the generations and the information provided in them. Gen 1:1 to Gen 2:3 is also written is the same fashion by providing the account of creation itself. Reading this as anything but a historical narrative is not good hermeneutics. 1 - Richard Whitaker et al., The Abridged Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew-English Lexicon of the Old Testament: From A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament by Francis Brown, S.R. Driver and Charles Briggs, Based on the Lexicon of Wilhelm Gesenius (Boston; New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1906). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 4: 06 MAIN POINTS IN CHAPTERS 1 - 11 ======================================================================== Main Points in Chapters 1 – 11 Day 1 On day one of creation: God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless. The Spirit of God was hovering over the surface. God spoke light into existence. God separated the light from darkness. Day 2 On day two of creation: God separated the waters of the earth from the water in the heavens. Day 3 On day three of creation: God separated the land from the seas. God caused vegetation to grow. Reproduction of vegetation was to be according to their kinds. Day 4 On day four of creation: God created the sun, moon and stars. These were to serve as signs for seasons, days and years. The sun was for the day and the moon for the night. They were to separate light from darkness. We note that the original light is not the same as the sun, moon and stars. We do not know what the original light was. It may well have just been the presence of God. (Rev 21:23-24) The sun and moon are called the greater and lesser lights. This may be because the nations around them worshipped the sun, moon and stars. Day 5 On day five of creation: Marine animals were created. Birds were created. Day six On day six of creation: Land animals were created. Adam was created. Adam and Eve were made in the image of God. No other creatures were made in the image of God. God planted a garden (Eden). The garden contained the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam was given the command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam named the animals and the birds. God made Eve from the rib of Adam. Marriage is instituted. Mankind was to multiply and rule over the earth and subdue it. Plants were to be the food for mankind and animals. Everything that God had made was “very good”. Day seven God had completed His work and now rested. Rested does not mean that he was tired, but rather that He was finished with His work and stopped creating. (šābat). vb. rest, cease, stop. To cease or stop action, or to rest from action. On the seventh day God rested or ceased (šābat; Gen 2:2-3) from the work of creating; for this reason Israel is to observe a Sabbath day and rest (šābat) on it, ceasing from work (e.g., Exo 20:8-11). In contexts other than the Sabbath, the verb šābat usually means “cease,” not “rest”: seasons will not cease (šābat) after the flood (Gen 8:22); manna ceased (šābat) when Israel entered the promised land (Jos 5:12); Israel is not to stop (šābat) worshiping Yahweh (Jos 22:25); and Israel will not cease (šābat) to be a nation (Jer 31:36).2 The fall Gen 3:1-24 details the temptation of Eve by Satan (through the serpent) and the sin of Adam. The resulting judgements were: The judgement on the serpent. The judgement on the woman: increased pain in child bearing. Her “desire” will be for her husband. The word translated desire is also used in Gen 4:7 where “sin is crouching at the door”. In looking at the context in both instances, desire would mean “desiring to control”. The second part affirms this meaning where she is told that “he will rule over you”. This does not mean that the husband should be a tyrant or oppressive in any way. The woman was to be a “helper” to man. It was “not good for the man to be alone”, thus the woman was to be a companion. See also Eph 5:25-29. The man had the authoritative role given to him, but he is not to abuse it, but love and protect his wife. The judgement on the man is a curse on the ground so that he will have to toil. It is now going to be a lot more work to provide food. Expulsion from the garden of Eden so that they could not eat from the tree of life and live forever. The first Gospel? Gen 3:15 is often considered the first reference to Jesus Christ and the Gospel. And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel." (Gen 3:15) There would be hostility between Satan (and his followers) and the descendants of Eve. This looks forward to the serpent (Satan) inflicting a non-fatal wound on the Messiah. The Messiah, in turn afflicting a fatal wound (on the head). Cain and Abel Gen 4:1-16 details the account of Cain and Abel. Abel presented an acceptable sacrifice to God, whereas Cain presented one that was not acceptable. Cain became angry and killed Abel his brother. His judgement was to be a vagrant and wanderer. He went out from the presence of the Lord. More history about Cain and his family is recorded in Gen 4:17-24. Cain built a city and one of his descendants, Lamech also committed murder. The descendants of Cain had livestock, were musicians, worked with metal and made all sorts of implements. After Cain killed Abel, Seth was born. Adam to Noah Chapter five documents the genealogy from Adam to Noah. Here we have the story of a very godly man, Enoch, who so impressed God, that he was taken by God to be with Him without experiencing death. (Gen 5:24) Corruption on the earth Chapter six documents the level of corruption on the earth during the time of Noah. There are two parts to this. Sons of God Gen 6:2-4 records the “sons of God” took wives for themselves from the “daughters of men”. The resultant offspring were called Nephilim. Nephilim really just means giants and the root word of giants means fallen ones3. While there is some discussion on who the “sons of God” and the “daughters of men” were, the only real plausible explanation is that the “sons of God” were fallen angels and the “daughters of men” were women descended from Adam and Eve. A good discussion on this is found in thisarticleby Dr. Douglas Petrovich. Wickedness on the earth The “wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Gen 6:5) It was so bad that God regretted that He had made man and it grieved Him in His heart. God limited the time that He was going to put up with this to one hundred and twenty years. (Gen 6:3) God was going to destroy all the land animals, birds and mankind because of this evil. Only Noah was found to be righteous during this time and was chosen, along with his immediate family, to build an ark (large boat) to repopulate the earth after the judgement by the flood. The ark was to be about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet tall. (It may have even been a bit larger, depending on exactly what the length of a cubit was at that point). He was to take the animals, that God would provide, on the ark. This judgement was to be worldwide. "Behold, I, even I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish. (Gen 6:17) The Flood When Noah completed the ark, God brought all the animals that He wanted to the ark. There were both clean and unclean animals in this group. It is interesting to note that it was not just rain but rather: all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened. The rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights.(Gen 7:11-12) The flood lasted about one year. This was a worldwide flood that destroyed all land animals, mankind and the birds. The water was at over twenty feet higher than the tallest mountains. (Gen 7:19-23) Shortly after the flood After the waters had receded, Noah, his family and the animals left the ark. Noah presented an offering to God with some of the clean animals that were with him on the ark. God now established a few things. He would never again destroy the world with a flood. The rainbow was designated to be a sign that God would not destroy the world again by a flood. The animals were now given to mankind as food in addition to the plants that were initially given at creation. The death penalty was instituted. They were to populate the earth abundantly. Noah planted a vineyard, drank of the wine and became drunk. While he was uncovered in his tent, Ham came in and then told his brothers. His brothers covered Noah without looking at him. As a result of this, Noah cursed Canaan who was Ham’s son. Note that the curse was really more prophetic, looking at the future descendants of Canaan. Table of Nations Genesis chapter 10 gives a list of descendants of Noah. There are about two generations listed for Ham and Japheth. Additionally, we are also told who the Philistines came from. One of the descendants of Cush was Nimrod. He established the first kingdom in the Mesopotamian area. The list then continues to Shem’s descendants, with a list from Shem to Terah and Abraham. Appendix C – Table of Nations is a chart of the descendants that are listed. Tower of Babel Gen 11:1-9 relates the account of the tower of Babel and the dispersion of the nations. God had commanded Noah and his sons to populate the earth, but instead of doing so, they built a tower in order to keep from being scattered over the earth. As a judgement for this, God confused their language and were thus scattered over the face of the earth. 2 - Joshua Joel Spoelstra, “Rest,” ed. Douglas Mangum et al., Lexham Theological Wordbook, Lexham Bible Reference Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014). 3 - Thomas, Robert L., ed. Hebrew-Aramaic Dictionary of the New American Standard Exhaustive Concordance. Accordance electronic ed., version 1.0. La Habra: Lockman Foundation, 2020. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 5: 07 SPECIFIC POINTS IN GENESIS 1 - 11 ======================================================================== Specific points in Genesis 1-11 The definition of the word day Context always determines the meaning of a word. The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew lexicon has the following definition for the word day as used in Genesis Chapter 1: d. day as defined by evening and morning4Gen 1:5; Gen 1:8; Gen 1:13; Gen 1:19; Gen 1:23; Gen 1:31 While day does have different meanings in different contexts, morning and evening always refer to morning and evening of a 24-hour day. Day, when used with morning, evening and a number emphatically means a 24-hour day. Analysis of a few verses “God called the lightday, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, oneday.” (Gen 1:5) In this verse, the word day is used twice. In the first case it refers to the daylight part of the day and in the second case when it is used with “evening and morning” and also a number, it can only mean a 24-hour day. Other verses which use “evening, morning and a number” are Gen 1:8, Gen 1:13, Gen 1:19, Gen 1:23, Gen 1:31. Verses where day is used with a number or context to indicate a 24-hour day: “By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.” (Gen 2:2) Gen 2:2, Gen 2:3, Gen 5:1, Gen 5:2, Gen 7:4, Gen 7:10, Gen 7:11, Gen 7:12, Gen 7:17, Gen 7:24, Gen 8:3, Gen 8:4, Gen 8:6, Gen 8:10, Gen 8:12, Gen 8:14, Gen 15:18, Gen 17:12, Gen 17:23, Gen 17:26, Gen 21:4, Gen 21:8, Gen 21:26, Gen 22:4, Gen 24:55, Gen 30:32, Gen 30:35, Gen 30:36, Gen 31:22, Gen 31:23, Gen 31:43, Gen 31:48, Gen 33:13, Gen 33:16, Gen 34:25, Gen 39:11, Gen 40:7, Gen 40:12, Gen 40:13, Gen 40:18, Gen 40:19, Gen 40:20, Gen 42:13, Gen 42:17, Gen 42:18, Gen 42:32, Gen 48:15, Gen 50:3, Gen 50:10. Verses where day is used to mean the daylight portion of a day: “Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years;” (Gen 1:14) Gen 1:14, Gen 1:16, Gen 1:18, Gen 3:8, Gen 8:22, Gen 18:1, Gen 24:12, Gen 24:42, Gen 26:32, Gen 29:7, Gen 31:39, Gen 31:40, Gen 41:9, Gen 48:20. Verses where day is used for an undetermined amount of time or a specified long period of time: “This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven.” (Gen 2:4) “The Lord God said to the serpent,“Because you have done this,Cursed are you more than all cattle,And more than every beast of the field;On your belly you will go,And dust you will eatAll the days of your life;” (Gen 3:14) Gen 2:4, Gen 2:17, Gen 3:5, Gen 3:14, Gen 3:17, Gen 4:3, Gen 4:14, Gen 5:4, Gen 5:5, Gen 5:8, Gen 5:11, Gen 5:14, Gen 5:17, Gen 5:20, Gen 5:23, Gen 5:27, Gen 5:31, Gen 6:3, Gen 6:4, Gen 6:5, Gen 8:22, Gen 9:29, Gen 10:25, Gen 11:32, Gen 14:1, Gen 18:11, Gen 19:37, Gen 19:38, Gen 21:34, Gen 22:14, Gen 24:1, Gen 25:7, Gen 25:24, Gen 26:1, Gen 26:8, Gen 26:15, Gen 26:18, Gen 26:33, Gen 27:2, Gen 27:41, Gen 27:44, Gen 27:45, Gen 29:20, Gen 29:21, Gen 30:14, Gen 30:33, Gen 32:32, Gen 35:3, Gen 35:20, Gen 35:28, Gen 35:29, Gen 37:34, Gen 38:8, Gen 39:10, Gen 40:4, Gen 41:1, Gen 43:9, Gen 44:32, Gen 47:9, Gen 47:23, Gen 47:26, Gen 47:28, Gen 47:29, Gen 49:1, Gen 50:4, Gen 50:20. Rapidly matured creation During the creation week, there are a number of things that needed to be matured very quickly. The food for the marine animals had to be mature or grow within a day. The vegetation for the animals had to grow quickly (as in a day or 2). The animals and birds had to be mature enough to fend for themselves. Adam had to be formed mature enough to take care of himself and tend the garden. Eve was fashioned mature from the rib of the man. The sun, moon and stars had to be created in a way so that the light from them was visible for them to serve as lights and signs for days, seasons and years. God, as the all-powerful creator, can cause all of the star formations to happen very quickly on day four of creation, and to cause the light to get to earth in an instant as well. After this, He could then cause the “natural laws” that He put into place to take over. The text specifically says that by the end of day six, the heavens, the earth and the heavenly lights were completed. (Gen 2:1) Creation week processes While Genesis is primarily a history book, it provides some clues as to what happened during the creation week. Miracles, including creation, are by definition not explainable by science. Godseparatedthe light from the darkness. (Gen 1:4) Separating would appear to refer to a process. When someone separates something, it is a process. God made the expanse, andseparatedthe waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse (Gen 1:7) Let the waters below the heavensbe gatheredinto one place, and let the dry land appear";(Gen 1:9) “Be gathered” refers to a process. Let the earthsprout vegetation: plants yielding seed,andfruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them" (Gen 1:11) The earthbrought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; (Gen 1:12) In these verses, we again see a process. According to the text, it would appear that this process happened within a day. "Let the earthbring forthliving creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind" (Gen 1:24) “Bring forth” is a process Then the LORD Godformedman of dust from the ground, (Gen 2:7) “formed” is a process Out of the ground the LORD Godformedevery beast of the field and every bird of the sky (Gen 2:19) The LORD Godfashionedinto a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, (Gen 2:22) The word “fashioned” really means to build. As we examine these verses, we see that in the six days of creation, God accelerated the growing and maturing process. The question is asked regarding the stars and galaxies. Did all of what we see in the heavens really happen as actual history, or is it just a deception? To answer this question, we must first look at some presuppositions that we may have. Some possible ones: Everything that has happened, has always done so in a uniform way. The physical laws were in place from the beginning (day 1) of creation. God is limited to doing things according to the physical laws that He has established for the universe. While we do not know exactly how God created the heavens and what the actual explanation is for what we see (aside from what we are told – “God said or spoke” and it happened), there are some theories that people have come up with. However, we do get a possible explanation from Scripture which is likely a much better explanation: It isHe who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom; And by His understanding He hasstretched out the heavens. (Jer 10:12)( Is 42:5; 45:12; 51:13; Jer 51:15) It is highly likely, that on day four, when He created the sun, moon and stars, He created them, and caused all of what we see, to happen very rapidly on that day. Therefore, it is actual history in terms of what has happened; it is just that it happened extremely quickly on day four. As a side note, the secular model calls for the rapid expansion of the universe at the time of the “big bang” to have happened from about 10-36 of a second to about 10-32of a second5. During this tiny fraction of a second, the universe is supposed to have expanded from a singularity to many billion light years across. It would appear that the Biblical explanation is far more believable since it has a cause for all that happened. The whole of creation proclaims the attributes, power and divine nature of God. “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” (Rom 1:20) The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. (Psa 19:1) Since the creation had to be created mature (or rapidly matured) in order for it to function, it would have had the appearance of age. Some have said that God would be deceptive by saying that the universe is less than 10,000 years old when it would appear that it needs to be much older than this. There is no deception in this because He clearly states how long He took to create the earth and He provided us with a chronological record to date the universe. Everything that we see actually happened in history. He also states that His attributes and power can be seen in creation, but does not say that by looking at creation you can determine its age. Creation was a miracle, and just like other miracles, a scientific, naturalistic explanation is not going to work. Creation and miracles points to God. Other Miracles in the Bible Miracles were frequently given for signs that point to God. Some examples: Moses was given the sign of his hand being made leprous. (Exo 4:6-7) Normally, the process of becoming leprous or being healed from it would take time, but here it happened very quickly. It would appear that God did not instantaneously make frogs, etc. appear, but rather that they reproduced very quickly. The plague of the frogs (Exo 8:2-6). The plague of the Gnats (Exo 8:16-19). The plague of the Flies (Exo 8:20-24). The plague of the Locusts (Exo 10:4-15). Regarding the dust of the earth that became gnats; was this deceptive? Were the gnats real or not? It is obvious that by the power of God, the sand became gnats. In Jos 10:12-14, God extended the length of the day about a whole day. In Jon 4:6-7, God made a plant grow up very quickly and whither very quickly. Jeroboam’s hand withered very quickly, and after the man of God prayed, it was restored quickly. (1Ki 13:4-6) Jesus turned water into wine. (John 2:6-9). This is a process that would normally take months, but it was done in a very short period of time. Jesus fed the 5000. (Mat 14:15-21) Note here that it does not seem that a huge mountain of food appeared all of a sudden. As they passed out the food, there was always more in their basket to give. Paul’s sight restored (Acts 9:17-18). As we look at these and the many other miracles that are recorded, we can see that some of the reasons for them is to point people to God and verify God’s Word. There is just no “scientific” way, and this includes our own observations, to explain miracles. What we call miracles are just a normal way of God working and we need to accept that. Creation itself is a miracle, so we cannot expect to be able to understand it. If God were not telling the truth in His Word regarding the chronologies and the age of the earth, then He would be deceptive and lying. Jesus Himself said that: ““For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” (Mat 5:18) (Luk 16:17) Jesus said to them, "Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not understand the Scriptures or the power of God? (Mark 12:24) It is impossible for God to lie. in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, (Tit 1:2) Paul writes: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” (2Ti 2:15) Use of existing material for the composition of Genesis There are some indications that Moses had some sources that had been passed down to him. This is thebookof the generations of Adam (Gen 5:1) Here we have a specific mention of a source. As already pointed out, there are a number of references that indicate that “these are the generations of ….). We note that the formula used is somewhat different in the various accounts. For instance, Adam’s list follows a formula of father lived XXX years and became the father of son. He then lived XXX years and all the days of father were XXX years. Shem’s list is similar but leaves out the total years lived. Father was XXX years old when he had son. Father lived XXX years after he became the father of son. Terah’s list gives even less information, but with referencing other passages, we can determine all the ages from Terah to Joseph. The other accounts generally provide more of a historical narrative and do not focus on the ages so much. The verses that provide the data to establish approximately when creation happened is discussed in this PDF and in Appendix A Genealogies – are there gaps? Some claim that there are gaps in the genealogies of Genesis because there are gaps in other genealogies in other parts of the Bible. So, let’s take a look at that. The list in Genesis 5 from Adam to Noah always specifies that the father was a certain age when he had a specific son. There is no place in this list that a gap can be inserted. The list in Genesis 11 from Shem to Terah also always specifies the age of the father when he had a certain son. From Terah on, we do not have a list as such, but we do have the records in various passages that either tell us the age of the father at the birth of the son, or it can be calculated from information that is provided. The narratives make it clear that Terah was the father of Abraham Abraham was the father of Isaac Isaac was the father of Jacob Jacob was the father of Joseph (and the other brothers) There are a couple of textual transmission problems that should be mentioned. In the Masoretic text, which we have in our Bibles, (though the early church generally used the Septuagint) the name of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad is left out. Luke was using the Septuagint version when he was writing. While this has been used to support a gap in the genealogies in Genesis it is simply not true. Cainan was in the original text and sometime in the transmission of the text, a copyist, whether accidentally or on purpose deleted his name. Even if Cainan was not original in the text, it does not show a gap, but rather a textual transmission issue. The Masoretic text and the Septuagint have some different numbers for some of the ages in the genealogies. It appears that the Masoretic text was changed (on purpose) sometime in the 2nd or 3rd century AD. There is enough textual evidence to get very close to reconstructing the original numbers. A brief overview is given in this PDF or in Appendix B. A more detailed discussion is found on the ABR Website. Regardless of which one is true, the possible range of creation is from about 4100 BC to about 5600 BC. This makes the universe less than 8000 years old. There are places in other parts of the Bible where all the descendants are not listed. In each case, the age of the father at the birth of a son is not given since it is provided to show a lineage. For example, inMat 1:8, Joram is listed as the father of Uzziah, but he omits three descendants between them. The obvious purpose of Matthew is to show the lineage of Jesus back to David and Abraham as the promised Messiah. The obvious intent of the Genesis chronologies in their context is to provide an actual historical account. Along with the rest of the historical narrative, the purpose may well have been polemic to refute the other creation accounts and the gods that they worshipped. We are still facing the same issue today. If the secular worldview, evolution and long ages are true, then the Bible is false. If the Bible is true, then the secular worldview is false. Gap betweenGen 1:1;Gen 1:3? There are some that would suggest a long gap between Gen 1:1 and Gen 1:3 in order to get some long ages inserted. Andrew Steinman refutes this: Moreover, unless one posits an unmentioned (and, therefore, unlikely) gap in time between the creation of heaven and earth and God’s activity beginning at 1:3, the creation mentioned in 1:1 is part of the activity that is later summed up by 1:5 as one day.6 The way that the first five verses are written (remembering that verse divisions did not exist until sometime from about 900 AD to 1300 AD) indicates that they were describing one day. Additionally, Gen 1:8 says “second” day, Gen 1:13 says “third day” etc. The obvious, plain reading is that Gen 1:1 to Gen 2:3 describes the first seven days of creation. Aside from this account, God again says in Exodus that He created in six days, so there can be no gap here. (Exo 20:11, Exo 31:17) In both of these accounts, it specifically says that God was speaking. The Flood and the geological column The layers in the “geological column” are often used to support an old earth, but does the evidence really support this? While there is a lot of evidence to support the account of Noah’s flood in the time period stated, we will list just a few examples. More can be found on websites such as Answers in Genesis or books such as “Earth’s Catastrophic Past”7. Marine fossils on high mountains. Evidence of rapid burial of animals and plants. Upright trees going through supposedly millions of years of sedimentation. Marine animals in the Grand Canyon area were fossilized in an upright position. Sedimentary layers were bent while still soft. The Mount St. Helens eruption and subsequent events show how sedimentation and erosion can happen very quickly. Flat coal seams. Complex creatures are at the “bottom” of the geological column. No evidence of transitional forms. Soft tissue in Dinosaur fossils. Satan’s deception Note the deception that Satan used with Eve: “Did God really say?” He is still using this same tactic in relation to the historicity of the 6 days of creation and the global flood. The Bible clearly says in more than one place that God created in six literal days and that the flood was global with only those in the ark surviving. Satan is sowing doubt and seeks to undermine the authority and the message (gospel) of the Bible. If the historicity of the creation in six days and the global flood is compromised, the rest of the Bible will also fall because it is based on Genesis. 4 - Francis Brown, Samuel Rolles Driver, and Charles Augustus Briggs, Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977), 398. 5 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflation_(cosmology) 6 - Andrew E. Steinmann, Genesis: An Introduction and Commentary, ed. David G. Firth, vol. 1, The Tyndale Commentary Series (London: Inter-Varsity Press, 2019), 50. 7 - Snelling, Andrew A. Earth’s Catastrophic Past. Volume 1 & 2. Green Forest, AZ: Master Books, 2009 ======================================================================== CHAPTER 6: 08 GENESIS 1 – 11 REFERENCES IN OTHER PARTS OF THE BIBLE ======================================================================== Genesis 1-11 references in other parts of the Bible (selected list) Old Testament "For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. (Exo 20:11) "It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceasedfrom labor, and was refreshed." When He had finished speaking with him upon Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written by the finger of God. (Exo 31:17-18) (notice in these passages that God specifically tells Moses that He made the universe in six days). By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,And by the breath of His mouth all their host.”(Psa 33:6) For He spoke, and it was done;He commanded, and it stood fast.”(Psa 33:9) Let them praise the name of the Lord,For He commanded and they were created.”(Psa 148:5) "For this is like the days of Noah to Me, When I swore that the waters of Noah Would not flood the earth again; So I have sworn that I will not be angry with you Nor will I rebuke you. (Is 54:9) New Testament "For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. "For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. (Mat 24:37-39) (Luk 17:26-27) (as it is written, “A father of many nations have I made you”) in the presence of Him whom he believed,evenGod, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.”(Rom 4:17) Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned-- (Rom 5:12) So also it is written, "The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL." The last Adambecamea life-giving spirit. (1Co 15:45) (refers to Gen 2:7 of God making man from the dust of the earth and breathing life into him) For it was Adam who was first created,andthen Eve. (1Ti 2:13) By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.”(Heb 11:3) By faith Noah, being warnedby Godabout things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. (Heb 11:7) who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely throughthewater. (1Pe 3:20) and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; (2Pe 2:5) It wasalso about these menthatEnoch,inthe seventhgenerationfrom Adam, prophesied (Jude 1:14) ======================================================================== CHAPTER 7: 09 CONCLUSION ======================================================================== Conclusion The text clearly indicates that Genesis one to eleven is actual history. It appears that Moses had some records that were passed down to him. Other information, regarding the history, was revealed to him directly by God, just as many other things relating to the law were revealed to Moses. The wording of the text makes it clear that God created in six literal days and that the Flood covered the whole world. No land animals or birds survived the flood other than those on the ark with Noah. It would appear that everything during the creation week happened at an accelerated rate. Everything from plants growing to the stars and galaxies being formed and light coming to earth happened much faster than the normal rate today. After the flood, the nations were dispersed with different languages. The scientific evidence affirms the account provided in the Bible. The first eleven chapters of Genesis provide the history of the universe, the global flood and the lineage from Adam to Abraham. It is a polemic against the false worldviews at the time. These chapters provide much of the basis for what we see today. The whole universe and the operation of it. Male and female of species. The origin of sin and evil. The reason for suffering, death and disease. Diversity of languages and people groups. Finally, consider Ephesians chapter six. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against all the spiritual forces of evil. The whole armor of God is primarily defensive, with only the sword being both defensive and offensive. Without the sword, which is the Word of God, we will be defeated at some point. “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” (2Ti 2:15) ======================================================================== CHAPTER 8: 10 APPENDIX A – ESTABLISHING DATES FROM CREATION TO THE TEMPLE ======================================================================== Appendix A Reference verses to establish the dating from creation to the start of the building of the temple by Solomon, which is an established date. Reference points During Old Testament times, dates are generally given in reference to a king or a significant event. For example: In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened. (Gen 7:11) Now the time that the sons of Israel lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. And at the end of four hundred and thirty years, to the very day, all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. (Exo 12:40-41) Thus the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, (Num 9:1) Now it came about in the four hundred and eightieth year after the sons of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD (1Ki 6:1) Genesis Chapters 1 & 2 Gen 1:1-5 describe the first day Creation of heaven and earth Light Separation of light and dark Definition of what a day means – evening and morning. In other words, a normal 24-hour day Gen 1:6-8 describe the second day An expanse is created between the earth and heaven Gen 1:9-13 describe the third day Dry land appears The dry land is called earth and the water is called seas Vegetation is created Gen 1:14-19 describe the fourth day Lights were made to be a sign for the seasons, days and years. (the reason for not specifying sun and moon is likely because they were worshipped by other people) Stars are also made Gen 1:20-23 describe the fifth day Swimming creatures are made Flying creatures are made Gen 1:24-31 describe the sixth day Land animals are made Adam & Eve are made in the image of God Man is given dominion over all the living creatures Animals and mankind were given plants for food God states that everything that he made was “very good” Gen 2:2-3 describe the seventh day By the seventh day, God had completed his work, rested and blessed the seventh day. In the 4th commandment regarding the Sabbath, Exo 20:11 affirms that God made the heavens and the earth and all that is in them in 6 ordinary, 24 hour days. Genesis chapter 5, 7 & 9 In this chapter we have the “book of the generations of Adam”. We will use the Masoretic text numbers as they are represented in our Bibles. Later we will show the comparison of the Masoretic text and Septuagint numbers as the latter is more likely the correct version. Considering the formula given for this list, it is quite obvious that God wanted us to be able to calculate the overall timeline, with the reference point being creation. For example, we read that when Adam was 130, he became the father of Seth. He lived another 800 years and the total years that he lived was 930. Name Age at birth of Son Lived after birth of son Total Lifespan Adam 130 800 930 Seth 105 807 912 Enosh 90 815 905 Kenan 70 840 910 Mahalalel 65 830 895 Jared 162 800 962 Enoch 65 300 365 Methuselah 187 782 969 Lamech 182 595 777 Noah 502 448 950 For Noah, we need to look at a few verses. Gen 5:32 tells us that Noah was 500 years old when he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth Gen 7:6 tells us that Noah was 600 years old when the flood came Gen 9:28 tells us that Noah lived 350 years after the flood Gen 9:29 tells us that Noah lived a total of 950 years. Gen 11:10 tells us that Shem was 100 years old 2 years after the flood From this information, we can tell that Shem was not the first-born, but was born 2 years after either Japheth or Ham or both were born. Genesis chapter 11 In this chapter we have the record of the generations of Shem. We have a similar formula in this list. The age of the patriarch is provided at the birth of the son and then lived another number of years. Name Age at birth of Son Lived after birth of son Total Lifespan Shem 100 500 600 Arpachshad 35 403 438 Shelah 30 403 433 Eber 34 430 464 Peleg 30 209 239 Reu 32 207 239 Serug 30 200 230 Nahor 29 119 148 Terah 130 75 205 For Terah we need to look at the following verses since his first son was not Abraham. Gen 11:32 gives the total lifespan for Terah as 205 Gen 12:4 gives the age of Abraham as 75 when he left Haran right after Terah died there This makes Terah 130 when Abraham was born. (It also makes him 140 when Sarah was born to him by another woman) Abraham to Joseph To get the numbers from Abraham to Joseph we go into a more detailed part of the text and find the references to compile this list. Abraham was 100 years old at the birth of Isaac Genesis 17 records Abraham being 99 years old when he was given the promise of a child through Sarah his wife the following year. Gen 21:5 records Abraham’s age as 100 years old when Isaac was born. Abraham lived to be 175 years old (Gen 25:7) Isaac was 60 years old when Jacob was born (Gen 25:26) Isaac was 180 years old when he died (Gen 35:28) Jacob was 147 years old when he died (Gen 47:28) Joseph’s numbers need to be calculated a bit differently. Jacob was in Egypt 17 years Jacob entered Egypt when there were 5 years left in the famine (Gen 45:6; Gen 45:11) Joseph was 30 years old when he came before Pharaoh (Gen 41:46). At this point the 7 years of plenty were just beginning. Joseph died at 110 years of age (Gen 50:26) So, to get Jacob’s age at Joseph’s birth we need to start from the time that Jacob entered Egypt. He was 130 Years old when he came to Egypt (Gen 47:9). From that, we subtract the 2 years of famine that have already occurred, so that makes him 128 at the start of the famine. From there we subtract the 7 years of plenty, making him 121 at the time of the start of the 7 years of plenty which is when Joseph was 30 years old, making Jacob 91 years old when Joseph was born. Joseph’s sons were born prior to the years of famine. (Gen 41:50) Name Age at birth of Son Lived after birth of son Total Lifespan Abraham 100 75 175 Isaac 60 120 180 Jacob 91 56 147 Joseph 31-36 74-79 110 Time in Egypt Exo 12:40-41 provide the total time in Egypt – 430 years to the day. Time from the Exodus to the start of the Temple In 1Ki 6:1 we are told that in the 480th year after Israel came out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon, he began to build the temple. So here we have another reference point. The fourth year of Solomon’s reign has been quite firmly established to be 967 BC (Steinmann 2011, Pg 37). This puts the Exodus at 1446 BC. Putting all this together now we have The Exodus in 1446 BC Jacob (Israel) into Egypt in 1876 BC Jacobs birth is 2006 BC Isaac’s birth is 2066 BC Abraham’s birth is 2166 BC From there it is a fairly simple matter of charting all of this. There is one more issue to deal with and that is the textual evidence of the Patriarchal numbers. There has been an obvious changing of some of the numbers of the pre-flood and post flood patriarchs. A number of the ages when sons were born have been changed. There were also some copying mistakes. By looking at the textual and extra-Biblical evidence, the original numbers can be reconstructed fairly well. The following chart represents the most likely original numbers. With the Masoretic text, we come up with a creation date of about 4174 BC and with the most probable reconstruction, we come up with 5554 BC. This provides us with the outside bounds of the date of creation, i.e. no farther back than 5554 BC and no less than 4174 BC. For a discussion on the textual evidence, please go to https://biblearchaeology.org/abr-projects-main/genesis-5-11-project The other lifespan we are told about is that of Moses. Moses was about 40 years old when he killed the Egyptian (Acts 7:23) Moses was 80 years old at the time of the Exodus. (Exo 7:7) Moses was 120 years old when he died. (Deu 34:7) Since the Exodus was in 1446 BC, Moses would have been born in 1526 BC and died in 1406 BC. Dating from Creation or our current calendar When God started to provide a timeline for us, He started with creation not with the calendar that we currently use. This could be compared to using degrees Celsius or degrees Kelvin. The Kelvin scale starts at absolute 0 (-273.15 C), which could be compared to dating from creation, since that is the starting point of time. Degrees Celsius could be compared to our current dating system of BC and AD with Jesus Christ being the reference point. From this reference point, whether it be the freezing point of water at 0 degrees or the birth of Jesus, you can go forward or backward. Just as you can convert from Celsius to Kelvin, so you can convert from absolute dates from creation to our present calendar. Bibliography Steinmann, Andrew. From Abraham to Paul. St Louis, MO: Concordia, 2011. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 9: 11 APPENDIX B – OVERVIEW OF SHORT AND LONG CHRONOLOGIES ======================================================================== Appendix B An overview of the Short and Long Chronologies in Genesis The Chronologies in Genesis chapter five and eleven have some differences in the various textual witnesses. This is only a very brief overview and more detailed information is available on the website of Associates for Biblical Research. Genesis 5, 11 Research Project This seems to be about the best and most comprehensive work on the subject. Most modern Bibles have the “short” chronology, while the early church generally accepted the longer chronology. The short chronology is based on the Masoretic (MT) text which is generally the superior text. The longer chronology is mostly based on the Septuagint (LXX) which was translated from Hebrew into Greek in the 3rd century BC (~281 BC). Other early texts also illuminate the issue. It is obvious that “someone” has changed some of the numbers deliberately while some scribal errors are also present. The Biblical text gives us some clues as to which is more likely. When Abraham was about 99 years old, we have this text: now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbearing. Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?" And the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ’Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?’ (Gen 18:11-13) According to the MT text, when Abraham was 99 years old, Shem would have been 549 years old, Shelah 414 Years and Eber 384 Years. Since all of these people had siblings, we would reasonably expect that there were others that were still alive that also attained these longer ages. When Abraham was 140 years old, we have this text: Now Abraham was old, advanced in age; and the LORD had blessed Abraham in every way. (Gen 24:1) At Abraham’s death we have this text: Abraham breathed his last and died in a ripe old age, an old man and satisfied with life; and he was gathered to his people. (Gen 25:8) He was 175 years old. A visual representation comparing the length of the chronologies: (note they are based on what is called the “long sojourn” since Exo 12:40 records the time of Israel in Egypt as 430 Years and Gen 15:13 predicts an approximate 400 Years in Egypt. Dr. Douglas Petrovich has written a paper on this topic. (https://www.academia.edu/40790408/ 2019_Determining_the_Precise_Length_of_the_Israelite_Sojourn_in_Egypt) This chart is based on the MT This is the longer chronology This chart represents ages in the shorter (MT) chronology Masoretic Text Age at Abraham’s Birth Lifespans Abraham’s age at Patriarch’s death Noah Dead 2 Years 950 Shem 450 600 150 Arphaxad 350 438 88 Shelah 315 433 118 Eber 285 464 Outlived Abraham by 4 Years Peleg Dead 12 Years 239 Reu 221 239 18 Serug 189 230 41 Nahor Dead 11 Years 148 Terah 130 205 75 Abraham 0 175 This chart represents the longer chronology Long Chronology Age at Abraham’s Birth Lifespans Abraham’s age at Patriarch’s death Shem Dead 630 Years 600 Not Born Yet Arphaxad Dead 565 Years 565 Not Born Yet Kainan Dead 535 Years 460 Not Born Yet Shelah Dead 332 Years 533 Not Born Yet Eber Dead 231 Years 504 Not Born Yet Peleg Dead 262 Years 339 Not Born Yet Reu Dead 132 Years 339 Not Born Yet Serug Dead 9 Years 330 Not Born Yet Nahor Dead 1 Year 208 Not Born Yet Terah 130 205 75 Abraham 0 175 A couple of additional comments that are interesting and may help illuminate the issue slightly. In the MT text, Noah and Shem (the two people who went through the judgement of the flood lived past the tower of Babel over 200 Years. The MT chronology puts the tower of Babel event only about 100 years after the flood. While we know that people do fall away from God fairly quickly, this would seem rather odd with both Noah and Shem still being alive and the memory and evidence of the flood quite fresh that we would see this large-scale rebellion so soon. Consider a possible parallel. The Israelites under Moses wandered in the desert and then entered the promised land under Joshua. They saw all the miracles and the working of God in their lives. Once the elders that outlived Joshua died, (Jos 24:31) we see that they started to fall away and rebel as recorded in the book of Judges. If we consider the longer chronology as true, then Noah would have passed on 181 years prior to Babel and Shem would have passed on 29 years prior to the Babel event. In light of this, it would make much more sense that Babel would have been over 500 years after the flood. Additional Information Henry B. Smith Jr. documents the following in his paper - The case for the Septuagint’s chronology in Genesis 5, 11 (2018 ICC) Demetrius the Chronographer (ca. 220 BC) dated creation to 5307 BC Eupolemus (ca. 160 BC), who was a Jewish historian, came up with the same date of 5307 BC for creation. Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum (1st century AD) was originally written in Hebrew and has the longer numbers (with a few re-constructible scribal errors) Josephus, writing after the fall of Jerusalem around 94 AD and working from a Hebrew text and translating it into Greek, comes up with a time of the written history of the Jews of about 5000 years. This would put creation around 5425 BC. It appears that the Hebrew text was changed sometime in about the 2nd or 3rd century AD. Based on this information, one needs to ask “which chronology fits the text and the evidence”? It would certainly appear that the only way the text makes sense is if the longer chronology is correct, otherwise Abraham would not have died at a “ripe old age”. Most of his ancestors lived longer than he did. (In the MT text, only Nahor would not have lived as long) By the time of Abraham, even 100 years was considered old according to the text. Also, consider that just over 100 years after Abraham’s death, Pharaoh is seemingly quite intrigued by Jacob’s age, indicating that the long lifespans had subsided by this time. Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How many years have you lived?" So Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The years of my sojourning are one hundred and thirty; (Gen 47:8-9) ======================================================================== CHAPTER 10: 12 APPENDIX C – TABLE OF NATIONS ======================================================================== Appendix C – Table of Nations ======================================================================== Source: https://sermonindex.net/books/gen-1-11/ ========================================================================