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Last time in this series on the first chapters of Genesis, we saw the saw the tragic scene in the garden play out. The first man and woman allow themselves to be swayed by the serpent’s lies and eat fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil — the one and only … Continue reading Consequences, Consequences: Genesis 3.14-24

As we’ve worked through the Genesis 2-3 creation story so far, we’ve wound up in a place familiar from the end of the Genesis 1 story: humanity living in harmony with God, each other, and creation, exercising our vocation to tend to the thriving of creation, in obedience to the commandment to choose life in … Continue reading Things Fall Apart: Genesis 3.1-13

We’re currently in the midst of a series of posts looking at the second creation story in the Bible, which goes from Genesis 2.4 to the end of chapter 3. In the most recent post, we saw how God formed Adam from the soil and created a garden for Adam to tend and inhabit. But, … Continue reading A Partner for Adam: Genesis 2.18-25

The other day we looked at the symbolism in Genesis 2.4-3.17’s extensive descriptions of its primordial setting, paying special attention to the role of gardens in Ancient Near Eastern (ANE) royal iconography and the two trees. Today we’re turning to the two main characters of this part of the story and the relationship between them: … Continue reading The LORD and Adam: Genesis 2.4-3.17, Part 2

The other day, we looked at the Bible’s second creation story, Genesis 2.4-3.24, in the big picture. We saw that where Genesis 1 seems likely to have been written to combat the despair of the Exile, Genesis 2 offers a less hopeful, but more relatable message: We humans are unfaithful and struggle to live up … Continue reading A Garden in Paradise: Genesis 2.4-17, Part 1