GENESIS
(online text)
It was interesting to read Genesis after reading the Bhagavad
Gita. Both texts begin with a
listing of family members: in the Gita both Dhritarashtra and Arjuna, his
nephew, list family members as the cousins prepare for battle, a battle
between the sons of Dhritarashtra and the sons of his brother Pandu. Genesis
contains a recounting of mankind’s lineage beginning with Adam (and Eve) and extending down
to Joseph, younger son of Israel (Jacob) and Rachel.
Lineage and family seem to be important in both cultures and
times (India before 150 BCE and the Middle East prior to 1250 BCE. In the Gita
the family relationships are in the background but in the Old Testament the
lineages described comprise the main framework of the text.
It describes mankind's original descendants and in particular their interactions and
covenants with the Lord. Genesis ends with mention that from the
12 sons of Jacob (Israel) came the 12 tribes of Israel.
Genesis seems to
be an attempt to explain how mankind came to be, and why life in the world is so hard:
- the fall from grace when Eve and Adam ate the apple and were banished from the Garden of Eden, when Adam was condemned to a hard life of labour and Eve was condemned to the pains of childbirth;
- the great flood which was punishment for the wickedness in the world, wiping out all living things except Noah, his family and the pairs of animals he had selected to save in the Ark;
- the Tower of Babel where man’s one language was forever confused by God because mankind had dared to aspire to reach for heaven;
- the covenant with Abraham and his descendants, a covenant renewed with Isaac, one of Abraham’s descendants.
I was struck while I was reading Genesis on how much of it still is present in our everyday conversation
or literature. The text itself has a
very archaic style and structure but the words and concepts are very much present and in use today:
In the beginning, God created…
And God saw that it was good
Let us make man in our image
Be fruitful and multiply
Garden of Eden
And on the 7th day…he rested
You are dust and to dust you shall return
Cain & Abel
Am I my brother’s keeper?
A mark on Cain
Dwelt in the land of Nod, east of Eden [where Cain dwelt]
40 days and 40 nights
Two and two, male and female, went into the ark
The dove came back to the ark after the flood with an olive
leaf in her beak (so Noah knew the flood waters had subsided from the earth)
For God made man in his own image
Sold his birthright for a mess of pottage
Tower of Babel
Sodom & Gomorrah
Sold into Egypt
The great Flood
The 12 tribes of Israel
There were many sections that I did not know or remember from growing up in the Catholic school system in Quebec, such as God saying that he would set his bow in the clouds as a sign of his
everlasting covenant with the earth that he will never again wipe out all
living things with a great flood. I can see how the terms “old testament” came to mean a severe God and harsh punishment. There were definite, harsh consequences for actions
or sins. I have more remembrance of New Testament
readings from going to mass as a child.
These were very different with their themes of “Do unto others as you
would have others do unto you” and of forgiveness and redemption: the forgiving of the prodigal son, of Judas,
of Mary Magdalene, the concept of repentance.
As a guide on how to live a good life, the Bhagavad Gita seems more useful and relevant than Genesis.
As a guide on how to live a good life, the Bhagavad Gita seems more useful and relevant than Genesis.
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