OT Survey

A Theological Introduction to the Old Testament

Authors: Bruce C. Birch, Walter Brueggemann, Terence E. Frethem, and David L. Petersen

Genesis assumes that God does not have to be introduced (1:1); even the name Yahweh is assumed to be known (2:4; 4:26). God is the subject of more activity than any other character in Genesis 1-11; God creates, blesses, gives laws, judges, grieves, saves, elects, promises, makes covenants, provides counsel, protects, confers responsibility to human beings, and holds them accountable. And we are not yet to Abraham! These activities reveal God’s core character and the basic divine way of relating to the world. This language is testimony to the kind of God who is active in the world more generally, not just in Israel. Abraham and Israel are called into a world within which God is already deeply and pervasively engaged. Such has been the case with every calling since that time. Through the lens of these images, the God of the opening chapters of Genesis is portrayed as a relational God. Most basically, God is present and active in the world, enters into a relationship of integrity within the world, and does so in such a way that both world and God are affected by that interaction.