Blessing
BlessingBlessing is the asking for or the giving of God's favor. Isaac was tricked into blessing Jacob instead of his firstborn Esau. At the Last Supper Jesus offered a blessing over bread and wine. To be blessed is to be favored by God. More is pervasive in Genesis. It is a gift of God, usually mediated through creaturely agents, which empowers recipients, both elect and non-elect, to experience and bring forth life, goodness, and well-being.
CovenantA covenant is a promise or agreement. In the Bible the promises made between God and God's people are known as covenants; they state or imply a relationship of commitment and obedience. More
Covenant in Genesis is basically divine promise. It refers to both universal promises to NoahBuilt the ark in which his family and the animals were saved from a flood More and all creatures and specific promises to the elect family of AbrahamGod promised that Abraham would become the father of a great nation, receive a land, and bring blessing to all nations. More. God thereby assumes obligations to remain forever committed to the world and to this family, with attendant blessings. For the book of Genesis, God gives promises and will be faithful to them through thick and thin.
CreationCreation, in biblical terms, is the universe as we know or perceive it. Genesis says that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. In the book of Revelation (which speaks of end times) the author declares that God created all things and... More
Creation is most fundamentally the activity of God in bringing the cosmos into being and includes both originating and continuing creative activity. Creation also includes the activity of creatures (human and nonhuman) in and through which God works to create in ever new ways.
Election
God “elects” or chooses creatures in and through which God will work in the world. The special election of Abraham (and his descendants) is for the sake of “all the families of the earth” (Genesis 12:3). This initially exclusive divine move is for the sake of a maximally inclusive end.
God
God is the primary character in the book of Genesis. Virtually every characteristic of God that is found in the Old Testament is present here (an exception is forgiveness, at least explicitly). God is seen to be present and active, among both chosen and nonchosen peoples, from the beginning of the book and throughout. God’s work is always seen as purposive, directed toward objectives that are in the best interests of individuals and peoples involved, indeed the entire creation.
Goodness and sinfulness
Human beings are created good and responsible creatures in the image of GodAccording to the book of Genesis, humans were created in the likeness, or the image, of God. The phrase is generally taken to refer to the uprightness and dignity of human nature. Because of disobedience the image of God has been corrupted or, some say,... More. This reality continues (PsalmA psalm is a song of praise. In the Old Testament 150 psalms comprise the psalter, although some of the psalms are laments and thanksgivings. In the New Testament early Christians gathered to sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. More 8) even though they have chosen to violate the relationship with God and sin becomes an inevitable dimension of their life, with ill effects on all creatures.
Image of God
Human beings are created both in the image of God, the Creator, and to be the image of God in the life of the world. The image of God, whatever its roots in royal imagery, has here been universalized, indeed democratized, so that all humanity–male and female and with no regard to race or class–belongs to this sphere. All interhuman hierarchical understandings are thereby set aside (see also Psalm 8).
The image of the God of the floodThe flood refers to the catastrophic deluge in Genesis. In the biblical account Noah, his family, and selected beasts survive the flood in an ark; thereafter they received a rainbow in the sky as a sign of God's promise. Many other cultures also have flood... More story
The images of God in the flood story are striking: God expresses sorrow and regret; judges reluctantly; goes beyond justice and determines to save some (including animals); commits to the future of a less than perfect world; is open to change in view of the divine experience with the world; and promises never to destroy the earth again.
Judgment
Judgment may be defined as the divinely mediated consequences of sin. Initially in Genesis, sin and judgment come to a climax in the flood. In the wake of this disaster, God promises never to allow for such an extensive judgment again (Genesis 8:21; 9:8-17), though more proximate judgments on sin continue apace (for example, Sodom and Gomorrah, Genesis 18:16-19:29). It is wise not to refer to such judgments as punishments; rather, they refer to the natural consequences of sin that are integral to God’s creational moral order, an order that God continues to mediate.
Relationality
God is a relational God, present and active in the world, who enters into a relationship with a world that is created as an interrelated entity. The relationship between God and world is a living and dynamic reality, more comprehensive than covenant, within which both parties are affected by the realities of genuine interrelatedness over time.
Righteousness
Righteousness has two different, though related, understandings in Genesis. On the one hand, it refers to being in a right relationship with God (so, for example, Abraham is righteousA righteous person is one who is ethical and faithful to God's covenant. Righteousness in the Old Testament is an attitude of God; in the New Testament it is a gift of God through grace. In the New Testament righteousness is a relationship with God... More, Gensis 15:6). On the other hand, it refers to the actions of those in such a relationship who in acting do justice to the relationship with God in which they stand (so Abraham’s descendants, Genesis 18:19).
