Week 4: Genesis 9:18-29

Week 4: Genesis 9:18-29

At A Glance:

Author: Moses or J

Form: Ancient Origin Story

Themes: The discovery of wine.  Dishonoring parents leads to curses.  Origin of Canaanite rivalry.  Curse of Canaan. Breakdown of the family similar to Gen 3.

Summary:  This is odd story placed at the end of the flood narrative is typically credited to the J author.  It recounts the first time wine is discovered and how Noah (unwittingly) had too much and became inebriated.  His son Ham “saw his nakedness” told his brothers about it rather than trying to cover up his father.  This brought a curse upon the descendants of Ham through Canaan that explains the rivalry and contempt that the descendants of Canaan (the Canaanites) and the Israelites.

Commentary:

9:20-21 – Taking upon the command to “till and keep” that was given to Adam 10 generations prior, Noah is called “a tiller of the soil”.  He plants the very first vineyard.  The author points out that it was the very first vineyard in order to emphasize that there was no way Noah could have known the effects of too much wine.  He consumed too much wine became drunk and fell asleep naked inside his tent. 

9:22-23 – This is the sin of Ham he “saw the nakedness of his father” and “told his two brothers outside”.  There are some scholars to interpret “seeing the nakedness” in this instance as the sin of incest because it uses laid similar language as Lv 20:17-21.  There is debate on whether this was incest with his own father, or with his mother who was presumably in the tent.  If it was incest with his mother and Canaan was the offspring of that union then the curse upon Canaan in v25-27 would make sense.  The majority of scholars, however, interpret this “seeing the nakedness” in light of v23.  In v23 Shem and Japheth avoided seeing their father’s nakedness by turning away.  It is difficult to interpret the first use of “seeing the nakedness” as incest but then interpret the next use of the term “seeing the nakedness” as simply avoiding looking at nakedness.  Since these uses are in the same context it is more likely that the sin of Ham was not incest but rather dishonoring his father.  By mentioning that Ham told his brothers about what he saw implies that not only did he see his father laying their in a disgraceful manner (presumably passed out drunk) but passed a negative judgment upon his father before his brothers.  In the ancient Near East sons were expected to protect the honor of their father by caring for him when he was drunk without negative judgment.  But why curse Canaan?  An ancient Hebrew interpretation of this text claims that Ham took Canaan with him into the tent (v 18 and 22 may imply that Ham had already fathered Canaan).  By cursing Canaan Noah ensures that the curse follows the line from Ham to Canaan and his descendants and not through the descendants of any other children Ham may have.

9:26-28 – The curses and blessings of the patriarchs are also prophetic.  In this case Noah’s curse of Ham “a slave of slaves shall he be to his brothers” foreshadows the later occupation of Canaan by Israel (the descendants of Shem).  There is also a play on words in the Hebrew.  In verse 27 the word “expand” is the Hebrew word “yapt” it plays well with the Hebrew name Japheth or "yepet". 

Final Thoughts:

            This scene feels much like the scene in Genesis 3.  Immediately following the peace and reconciliation that the covenant brings to humanity there is betrayal and sin.  There are even familiar elements present in this story: we have a tiller, the mentioning of nakedness with a sense of shame included, the breakdown of the family, and a curse with echoes of one member of the family dominating over the other member of the family.  This is a pattern we seem to be unable to escape.

            Peculiarly the sin here is not the breaking of one of the conditions of the covenant.  Ham did not eat the blood of an animal nor did he kill any other human, rather he “looked” and “told”.  The covenant was not broken but there is still a sin here. 

This reminds me of the importance of what we choose to look at and what we choose to say.  Speaking from a man’s point of view (the only point of view from which I can speak) I hear men say that what we look at does not matter as long as we don’t act on what we look at.  This pericope imparts an important lesson: What we choose to look at does matter.  The wicked Ham looked, whereas the righteous Shem and Japeth “turned away”.  Jesus reminds us that looking upon a woman lustfully is the same as committing adultery with her (Mt 5:28).  I’m also tired of hearing the excuses men make for ogling women.  “If women didn’t dress so provocatively I wouldn’t be tempted to look.”  Although the way a women dresses may lead to temptation, it is our own choice to give into that temptation or not.  “The dignity of every woman is the responsibility of every man” (St. John Paul II).  I don’t pretend that it is easy to control our eyes; I contend that it is important. 

Some of us have just as hard a time controlling our tongue as we do controlling our eyes.  Here Ham uses his mouth to cast shame and dishonor on his father. 

How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is an unrighteous world among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the cycle of nature, and set on fire by hell.  For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by humankind, but no human being can tame the tongue--a restless evil, full of deadly poison. – James 3:5b-8

How we choose to talk about others while they are present and especially while they are not present tells us more about the person talking than the person being talked about. 

            Our eyes and our tongue are wild indeed.  Let us take the example of Shem and turn away our eyes and work to tame our tongue.  It is not an easy task but with the help of God’s grace in the sacraments and his grace poured out to us in times of temptation we can gain control of them.  Let us not be slaves to our eyes or slaves to our tongue.  Jesus came to set us free! 

Please share your thoughts, insights, and comments...

Week 4: Genesis 9:1-17

Week 4: Genesis 9:1-17

At A Glance:

Author: Moses or P

Form: Ancient Flood Story

Themes: God's blessing with Noah.  The second major covenant of the Old Testament.  Reconciliation between God and creation through humanity.

Summary:  This is the covenantal outline of the second major covenant of the Old Testament.  There are many covenantal themes present: There is was a sacrificial seal (8:21), a blessing (v1), a condition (v4), a curse (v6), and a sign (v12-17).

Commentary:

9:1-17 - Another impressive chiasm (literary sandwich) is present here:

            A.  Divine promise not to destroy the earth (8:20-22)

                        B.  Blessing (9:1)

                                    C.  Divine sovereignty over life (9:2-6)

                        B.  Blessing (9:7)

            A.  Divine promise not to destroy earth (9:8-17)

The central focus is God's sovereignty over all life and that all blood - considered the life of the creature (Lv 17:11) - this is a foreshadow of the temple sacrifices where the life-blood of the animal sacrificed serves as atonement for sin. 

9:1-3 - These verses are the echoed blessing from the sixth day of creation.  The blessing here so closely matches Genesis 1:28-29 the author is telling us that God is establishing a relationship with the newly washed earth & humanity.  The language of this covenant is reconciliation.  The original covenant was broken and sin spread spread from Genesis 3-6 until "every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (6:5), informing us that all humanity was guilty and the flood was the playing out of the curse of death from the original covenant.  Here God is renewing that covenant through the establishment of a new covenant with Noah.  Rather than giving up on creation God decides to continue to attempt union with what he created. 

9:3 - God explicitly allows for the eating of animals.  Whether or not it was practiced before is not entirely clear, but there is a tradition that says that the most holy people before the flood did not partake of meat.  After the flood the explicit concession to eat meat is probably more of a practical concession since the ground would have been so waterlogged that it would be some time before Noah was able to get something substantial to feed his growing family. 

9:4 - This is the condition of the covenant.  Noah and his family are explicitly invited to eat meat of all animals, but not the blood of the animals.  God's choice of reserving the blood of all creatures to himself not only foreshadows the temple sacrifices, but also the perfect sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.  At Calvary God's own blood was spilled.  All blood belonged to God, yet God freely gave his precious blood to us.  Our lives belong to him, and he has given his life to us. 

9:6 - This verse presents the curse of the covenant.  If anyone sheds the blood of a man, by man shall his blood be shed.  The beginning articulation of justice in scripture.  Justice is the receiving of what is deserved. 

9:13-17 - The longest section of this pericope is dedicated to the sign of the covenant, in this case the bow.  Some suggest that the rainbow was not present until this passage of scripture, others suggest that it was present during the rains of the flood, but God appropriated it when he established the covenant.  God reiterates 5 times that this covenant is established with Noah and "every living creature".  God's covenant with Noah was not just him establishing relationship with one creature, but all creation through one creature.  This is one of the reasons why the early Christians felt the need to hold the Gentiles to the condition of this covenant and forbid any converts from eating the blood of an animal (Acts 12:29).  The choice of the bow as the sign is also significant of God's promise not to destroy the earth again.  The bow (“haqqeset” in Hebrew) is the same word for the weapon bow in Hebrew (2 Kgs 13:16; Am 2:15).  God’s bow is placed with its aim facing away from the earth as a sign of his promise to not destroy the earth.

Final Thoughts:

            Covenants are all about relationship bonds.  God enters into a covenantal relationship with us and like an unfaithful spouse we break our vows with him.  In modern marriage covenants when one spouse breaks their vow we run to the divorce lawyers and avoid contact with our “ex-spouse” until death do us part.  Betrayal is hurtful.  So hurtful that it literally ruptures relationships.  The story of the flood is the story of how we completely severed our ties with God we betrayed him. 

Unlike us, God did not give up on humanity.  He sought reconciliation through water, and through the establishment of a new covenant.  God will do this again and again throughout the Old Testament.  He will enter into covenant with humanity we will betray that covenant suffer the curses of that betrayal, and God seeks reconciliation with us.  This cycle continues until God establishes the perfect covenant made with all creation through his son Jesus.  Jesus is perfectly obedient to that covenant and establishes signs through which we can enter into the covenant on his merit and not ours.  Baptism washes us of all sin like the waters of the flood and we receive that divine life (or sanctifying Grace) within us. This is the life of Jesus that was given for us.  We are strengthened with this life through the reception of Confirmation and especially the Eucharist.  Even though we are strengthened to live in this new covenant we still betray it in our selfishness, but Jesus gave us a sign which reconciles us, the sacrament of Reconciliation. 

So many people see Noah and the flood as a story of God’s anger, but when we look deeper it is a story of God’s faithfulness, mercy, and love.  Even though we turn our backs on him time and time again God does not run to the divorce lawyers.  He pursues us with his holy love and calls us back to him.

Please share your thoughts and insights…

Week 4: Genesis 8:1-22

Week 4: Genesis 8:1-22

At A Glance:

Author: Moses or A mix of J & P

Form: Ancient Flood Story

Themes: The water recedes.  Waiting upon the Lord.  Leaving the Ark.  Creation made new again. 

Summary:  This pericope ends the destruction of the flood.  The waters begin to recede and Noah must wait until the divine command to leave the ark.  In God's 3rd Divine Address to Noah we hear that this earth that has been washed by the waters is like a new earth.  Echoes from Genesis 1 can be seen throughout the chapter.  The earth has become a new creation through the waters of the flood.

Commentary:

8:1a - As mentioned previously "God remembered Noah" is the center of the flood epic and what follows is the action of God taken on account of his servant Noah.  God did not forget about Noah on the boat, this literary tool tells us that everything that God does after he "remembers" him is done for him, or on his behalf.

8:1b-2 - The word "wind" is the same "ruah" used in Gen 1:2 the "fountains of the deep" and "window of the heavens" are allusions to the separation of the waters from the second day of creation in Genesis 1.  This verse establishes that what follows is a new creation of the earth.  The old corrupt earth has been washed away by the flood, a new earth rises as the waters recede. 

8:3-14 - This is the account of the flood waters receding, many scholars also point to this account as evidence of the multiple source theory of the Pentateuch.  Verses 3-5, and 7 and 13a-19 tend to be considered from the Priestly source by its count the flood began on 17th day of the second month when Noah was 600 years old and he exits the ark on the 27th (some manuscripts read 17th) day of the second month when Noah is 601 years old.  Placing Noah in the ark for a full year, whereas the J source (v6, 8-12, 13b, and 20-22) have Noah entering the ark 7 days before the flood began, it rained for 40 days and afterwards Noah waited on the ark another 14 before exiting the ark having been on board only 61 days.  Here the account is interwoven into a single narrative there are scholars who reconcile the two accounts and suggest that Noah was on the ark for 385 or so days. 

8:15-16 - This begins the 3rd Divine Address: Leave the Ark.  Whether there are two accounts of the flood interwoven together by a master redactor or a single account told with differing emphasis Noah waits for the Lord's command before leaving the ark.  In v4 the boat was already resting on mountainous land, v11 Noah had evidence of fertile land, v13 Noah visibly saw that the earth was dry, but he waited until God's command in v15-16 before leaving the ark.  What was he considering while waiting.  Did he doubt?  Was he worried that God would not come for him?  I would wager that he didn't.  A doubting man would have left the boat rather than waiting for God to command it, after all God did not say "Stay in the boat until I say so."  I read this sensing a giddy excitement in Noah.  He patiently waited for the Lord's command, but he looked and peaked using birds and counting the days like a child who is excited about Christmas and the prospects of presents.

8:17 - God once again commands the wild animals to multiply upon the earth just as he did on the 6th day of creation. 

8:20 - At the first creation of the earth God rested after all was made and he blessed the 7th day making it holy.  Here after completing the New Creation God accepts an offering of worship to him.  This is the first time we hear anyone makes use of an Altar (Abel & Cain both made offerings, presumably on an altar but the text does not make that explicit). 

8:21-22 - God here mentions that he will not destroy the earth again as he did even though "the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth".  God acknowledges that humanity has not changed but still promises to refrain from dishing out the just punishment we deserve for our sins.  After all if God were to punish us as often as we deserve a new flood might be sent every day! 

Final Thoughts:

          This section of the flood epic is fraught with theological symbolism.  Through the waters the earth is made new, God resolves to have mercy on the sinfulness of man and that never again shall the earth be destroyed in such a way.  This is clear baptismal imagery.  The waters of baptism wash away our sinfulness (1 Pt 3:21) and we arise from the waters as a new creation in Christ (2 Cor 5:17).  God could have cleansed the wickedness in any way he desired, but he chose the image of water.  How can we then doubt the efficaciousness of our own baptism?  God has proven that he can wash away wickedness through water then he promises to wash away my wickedness in my water baptism and the baptism of my children.  Why would I want to wait to receive this promise? 

          The washing away of wickedness is not the end of the story.  Noah must still live out his life and his sons must live out their lives.  As we shall see "the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth" (v21).  Yet God does not send another cleansing flood, reminding us that although we may sin again after being cleansed we are already a new creation and do not need to be re-baptized.  "Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over" John 13:10.  We have been bathed in the waters of Christ, there is no other cleansing greater than this.  But when we sin God gives us a way to "wash our feet" so-to-speak.  The sacrament of reconciliation where we renew our broken relationship with God.  What follows in chapter 9 is a renewing of the broken relationship that began with the fall of man in chapter 3.

Please share your thoughts and insights as well….