Bible Dictionary
GENESIS
GENESIS
Gr. «genesis», «origin».
Name given in the LXX version to the first book of the OT; comes from heb. “B’rëshith”, “in the beginning”, phrase with which the book begins.
Genesis is divided into three sections:
(a) Description of the world, its creation and its relationships with God, beginning of human history (Gen. 1:1-2:2).
(b) Outline of the history of humanity before Abraham; revelation of the relationships between God and the human race; beginning of the history of the chosen people (Gen. 2:4-11:26).
(c) History of the covenant people until their going to Egypt (Gen. 11:27-50:26).
Regarding the first section, see CREATION. Regarding the second section, see FLOOD, BABEL, etc.
(a) SYNOPSIS.
A brief synopsis of Genesis is as follows:
Creation of the universe and the earth with everything it contains (Gen. 1:1-2:3);
particularized account of the creation of man and woman (Gen. 2:4-25);
the fall (Gen. 3),
progress of sin (Gen. 4:1-15),
the ungodly line (Gen. 4:16-24),
the chosen line (Gen. 4:25-5:32),
the increase of sin (Gen. 6:1-8),
the flood (Gen. 6:9-9:17),
the repopulation of the earth (Gen. 9:18-10:32),
the construction of the tower of Babel (Gen. 11:1-9) and
the origin of the Semitic race (Gen. 11:10-26),
the beginning of Abraham’s career, his calling, his pilgrimage in Canaan (Gen. 11:27-25:10),
Isaac’s life, from the death of his father to Jacob’s departure for Mesopotamia (Gen. 25: 11-27: 40),
the life of Jacob from his departure to Mesopotamia until the death of Isaac (Gen. 27: 41-35: 29),
the offspring of Esau (Gen. 36),
the beginning of Joseph’s story until he was sold into Egypt (Gen. 37),
the sin of Judah (Gen. 38),
Joseph’s condition in Egypt (Gen. 39-45),
the circumstances relating to the life of Jacob, his family and Joseph in Egypt (Gen. 46-49),
the death of Jacob and Joseph (Gen. 50).
Genesis has ten natural divisions headed by the formula “These are the origins” (Heb. “tol’doth,” see GENERATION), or equivalent translations (Gen. 2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10: 1; 11:10; 11:27; 25:12; 25:19; 36:1, 9; 37:2).
For the question of the author, of unity, authenticity, see PENTATEUCH.
(b) SPIRITUAL MESSAGE.
This fundamental book introduces us in a masterful way to the written revelation of God. By explaining the origins, he simultaneously traces the guidelines that lead through the entire Bible to the final consummation of the Apocalypse.
In Genesis we actually find the origin of all things: the creation of the heavens and the earth, of man, of paradise, of the tree of life, the first mention of the tempter, the fall and the beginning of sin among the human race. , first universal judgment by water, the tower of Babel, confusion of languages, the vocation of the people of God.
In the Apocalypse everything is consummated: new heavens and new earth, glorified humanity, eternal paradise and the tree of life (Rev. 2:7; 22:2), definitive punishment of Satan, end of sin, second universal judgment by fire (Rev. 20:11; 2 Pet. 3:5-12), gathering of men of all languages around the Lamb (Rev. 5:9), his eternal reign in the New Jerusalem in the immediate presence of God (Rev. 21:22).
This is one of the proofs of the extraordinary unity of the inspiration of the Bible, written over some 16 centuries by a group of different authors.
Naturally, Genesis is cited incessantly directly or indirectly in the OT. The Lord constantly presents himself as “the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”, a name that would be incomprehensible without the book of Genesis. And neither the origin nor the calling of Israel could be conceived without this book.
We would find ourselves in a great void if we lacked the first 11 chapters, which serve as the seedbed for the entire story of redemption. Let us also note that chapters 12-50 (39 chapters, almost 3/4 of the book) are dedicated to four biographies, full of teachings about the individual, the family, education, and the action of God through the generations.
As for the NT, there are over 60 quotes from Genesis:
Christ himself confirms the main stories about him:
the creation of man and woman (Mt. 19:4-6),
murder of Abel (Luke 11:49-51),
the flood (Lk. 17:26-27),
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Mt. 22:32; Jn. 8:56),
circumcision of the patriarchs (John 7:21-23), etc.
In Acts, Stephen summarizes from Abraham’s call to the descent into Egypt with Joseph (Acts 7:1-17).
Paul makes constant allusions to the characters and spiritual events of Genesis (e.g., Rom. 4; 5:12-21; 9:7-13; 1 Cor. 11:7-12; 2 Cor. 11:3; Gal. 3:6-18; 4:21-31; 1 Tim. 2:13, etc.).
Regarding the epistle to the Hebrews, cp. Melchizedek (Heb. 7:1-22), about creation, and about the patriarchs, from Abel to Joseph (Heb. 11:3-22).
(c) PLACE OCCUPIED BY CHRIST.
The place occupied by Christ in Genesis is what gives greater value to this book. Jesus himself warned that Moses had written about him, and that if we do not believe Moses we cannot believe his words (Lk. 24: 25-27, 44; Jn. 5: 46-47; 8:56).
Already in the account of Creation we can see a veiled allusion to the Trinity with the plural used in reference to God (Gen. 1:1, Elohim, etc.), and in the council held within the Deity at the time of the creation of man (Gen. 1:26; cp. Jn. 1:1-3; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:10).
Adam was a figure of Him who was to come (Rom. 5:14, 15; 1 Cor. 15:22, 45-49). The promise of the seed of the woman who will crush the head of the serpent (Gen. 3:15) is called the “protoevangelium”, the first announcement of redemption through the incarnation and sufferings.
Abel is declared righteous by his faith in a bloody sacrifice, more excellent than that of Cain (Gen. 4:4; Heb. 11:4).
The water of the flood was a figure of baptism, and the ark is one of the images of salvation in Christ, who passes through judgment giving refuge to those who come to Him, and who die and rise with Him (1 Pet. . 3:21; Rom. 6:3-4).
Melchizedek is a type of our eternal and perfect High Priest (Gen. 14:18-20; Heb. 7:1-8, 24-25).
The angel of Jehovah (see) is likewise a theophany, a manifestation of the One who gives visible evidence of the presence of God (Gen. 16:7 ff.; 18:2 ff.; 22:11 ff.; 32:24 ff. .).
The sacrifice of Isaac, the long-awaited only son, at Moriah (cp. 2 Chron. 3:1), presents extraordinary analogies with those of the only begotten Son of God in almost the same place (Gen. 22; Heb. 11:17 -19; Gal. 3:16).
Shiloh, the ruler, will one day come from the tribe of Judah (Gen. 49:9-10). This is how the line of the Messiah is specified: he will be born from our race (Gen. 3:15), the people originating from Abraham (Gen. 22:17-18), from the tribe of Judah (Gen. 49:10), from the family of David (2 Sam. 7:13-16), from Mary (Lk. 1:32).
BETHEL
is the name of a Canaanite city in the ancient region of Samaria, located in the center of the land of Canaan, northwest of Ai on the road to Shechem, 30 kilometers south of Shiloh and about 16 kilometers north of Jerusalem.
Bethel is the second most mentioned city in the Bible. Some identify it with the Palestinian village of Beitin and others with the Israeli settlement of Beit El.
Bethel was the place where Abraham built his altar when he first arrived in Canaan (Genesis 12:8; Genesis 13:3). And at Bethel Jacob saw a vision of a ladder whose top touched heaven and the angels ascended and descended (Genesis 28:10-19).
For this reason Jacob was afraid, and said, “How terrible is this place! It is nothing other than the house of God, and the gate of heaven »and he called Bethel the place that was known as «Light» (Genesis 35-15).
Bethel was also a sanctuary in the days of the prophet Samuel, who judged the people there (1 Samuel 7:16; 1 Samuel 10:3). And it was the place where Deborah, the nurse of Rebekah, Isaac’s wife, was buried.
Bethel was the birthplace of Hiel, who sought to rebuild the city of Jericho (1 Kings 16:34).
When Bethel did not yet belong to the people of Israel, Joshua had to battle against the king of Bethel and other kings and defeated them (Joshua 12-16).
When the people of Israel had taken possession of the promised land, in the division by tribes it was assigned to the Tribe of Benjamin (Joshua 18-22), but in later times it belonged to the Tribe of Judah (2 Chronicles 13:19).
It was one of the places where the Ark of the Covenant remained, a symbol of the presence of God.
In Bethel the prophet Samuel judged the people.
Then the prophet Elisha went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some boys came out of the city and mocked him, and said to him: “Go up, bald man; Come up, bald! When he looked back and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the forest and tore to pieces forty-two boys” (2 Kings 2:23).
After the division of the kingdom of Israel, Jeroboam I, king of Israel, had a golden calf raised at Bethel (1 Kings 21:29) which was destroyed by Josiah, king of Judah, many years later (2 Kings 23:15). .
Bethel was also a place where some of the Babylonian exiles who returned to Israel in 537 BC gathered. (Ezra 2:28).
The prophet Hosea, a century before Jeremiah, refers to Bethel by another name: “Bet-Aven” (Hosea 4:15; Hosea 5:8; Hosea 10:5-8), which means ‘House of Iniquity’, ‘House of Nothingness’, ‘House of Vanity’, ‘House of Nullity’, that is, of idols.
In Amos 7: 12-13 the priest Amaziah tells the prophet Amos that he flee to Judah and no longer prophesy in Bethel because it is the king’s sanctuary, and the head of the kingdom.
The prophet Jeremiah states that “the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel” (Jeremiah 48:13), because of their idolatry and, specifically, the worship of the golden calf.
PUTEOLI
(lat.: “small fountains”).
Two days after arriving in Rhegium, the ship carrying Paul arrived at Puteoli, which was then an important maritime city.
The apostle found Christians there, and enjoyed their hospitality (Acts 28:13).
It was located on the northern coast of the Gulf of Naples, near the site of present-day Pouzzoles.
The entire surrounding region is volcanic, and the Solfatare crater rises behind the city.
PUT
Name of a nation related to the Egyptians and neighbors of their country (Gen. 10:6).
Put is mentioned with Egypt and other African countries, especially Libya (Nah. 3:9) and Lud (Ez. 27:10; Is. 66:19 in the LXX. Put appears between Cush and Lud in Jer. 46:9; Ez. 30:5).
In the LXX he is translated as Libyans in Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Josephus also identifies it with Libya (Ant. 1:6, 2), but in Nah. 3.9 is distinguished from the Libyans.
Current opinion is divided between Somalia, Eastern Arabia and Southern Arabia (Perfume Coast).
PURPLE
A coloring substance that is extracted from various species of mollusks. The ancient Tyrians used two types of them: the “Murex trunculus”, from which the bluish purple was extracted, and the “Murex brandaris”, which gave the red.
The ink of its coloring matter varies in color depending on the region in which it is fished.
Piles of murex shells, artificially opened, have been discovered in Minet el-Beida, port of ancient Ugarit (Ras Shamra), which gives evidence of the great antiquity of the use of this purple dye (see UGARIT).
Due to its high price, only the rich and magistrates wore purple (Est. 8:15, cf. the exaltation of Mordecai, v. 2, Pr. 31:22; Dan. 5:7; 1 Mac. 10 :20, 62, 64; 2 Mac. 4:38; cf. v 31; Luke 16:19; Rev. 17:4).
The rulers adorned themselves in purple, even those of Midian (Judg. 8:26). Jesus was mocked with a purple robe (Mark 15:17).
Great use had been made of purple-dyed fabrics for the Tabernacle (Ex. 25:4; 26:1, 31, 36) and for the high priest’s vestments (Ex. 28:5, 6, 15, 33; 39: 29). The Jews gave symbolic value to purple (Wars 5:5, 4).
PURIM
(Heb., plural of “luck”).
Haman cast lots to determine a day of good omen for the destruction of the Jews.
As Haman’s designs were undone, the liberation of the Jews was marked by an annual festival (Est. 3:7; 9:24-32) on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar.
This festival is not mentioned by name in the NT, although there are exegetes who assume that it is the one referred to in Jn. 5:1.
This festival continues to be celebrated within Judaism: the book of Esther is read, and curses are pronounced on Haman and his wife, blessings are pronounced on Mordecai and the eunuch Harbonah (Est. 1:10; 7: 9).
PURIFICATION, PURITY
In the Mosaic Law four ways to purify oneself from contamination were indicated:
(a) Purification of contamination contracted by touching a dead person (Num. 19; cf. Num. 5:2, 3),
(b) Purification from impurity due to bodily emissions (Lev. 15; cf. Num. 5:2, 3).
(c) Purification of the woman in labor (Lev. 12:1-8; Luke 2:21-24).
(d) Purification of the leper (Lev. 14).
To this, the scribes and Pharisees added many other purifications, such as washing hands before eating, washing vessels and dishes, showing great zeal in these things, while inside they were full of extortion and iniquity (Mark 7: 2-8).
In Christianity the necessary purification extends:
to the heart (Acts 15:9; James 4:8),
to the soul (1 Pet. 1:22), and
to the conscience through the blood of Christ (Heb. 9:14).
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BETHEL