The Issue Introduced

Most Christians have at least heard of the debate about the nature of the opening chapters of the first book of the Bible. Are they myth or are they historical? Avoiding the technical mumbo-jumbo that can be part and parcel of this discussion the question could be simply phrased: Did these things really happen and did these people really exist?

Much ink (and almost blood) has been spilled in an attempt to answer this question. I am under no delusions that my minor contribution will settle the matter. However, I do have one point that I think is worth considering in the discussion.

The Pillar Passages

When you read through Genesis chapters 1–11 you’ll notice that there seems to be three important narratives at the heart of the book, you could call these “pillar passages”:

• The Fall (Chapter 3)
• The Flood (Chapters 6–8)
• The Tower of Babel (Chapter 11)

Setting aside the theological import of each of these passages as fleshed out in the New Testament, let’s zone in on one important feature about the scriptures surrounding these three pillar passages. From the Fall to the Flood and from the Flood to the Tower of Babel detailed genealogies are given:

• Chapter 5 connects Adam to Noah
• Chapter 10 connects Noah to the people of Babel

This fact by no means settles the debate. Yet, it does seem to show that the author of Genesis viewed these events and people as historical, which he made clear by weaving them together with genealogies.

Tying It All Together

Now, here is the real kicker. Many scholars debating this issue and attempting to categorize Genesis chapters 1–11 as mythical or poetical will often say things like “Genesis Chapters 1–11 are cut from the same cloth in their literary type” and by this they mean that between Genesis 11 and Genesis 12 we have a departure from the mythical to the historical.

There’s just one problem…

Genesis 11 ends with yet another genealogy connecting Shem, Noah’s son, to Abraham whose story and offspring dominate the rest of Genesis and whom these and most scholars agree was a historical figure.

It is apparent then that the author of Genesis viewed Abraham and the stories that followed as “cut from the same cloth” as the three pillar passages. As even William Lane Craig, a Biblical scholar who tends to think of Genesis 1–11 as more mythical than historical, has admitted: “…Adam and Eve…seem to be historical individuals in that they are connected by genealogies and descendants to indisputably historical persons like Abraham. So, I think that the interpreter, to be faithful to the text, has to deal with the fact that these principal characters are presented as historical individuals.”

I think Craig hits the nail on the head with that last sentence. As Christians, we want to be faithful to the text of Scripture. The text of Scripture, being written by the hands of men as inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21), must be interpreted in a way that accounts for the understanding and intentions of the authors.

A Note About Ancient Jewish Genealogies

Genealogies have been important in Jewish culture since its origin. We find an example of this importance in third book of the Torah, the first five books of the Bible and commonly thought to be mostly written by the same author, of which Genesis is a part. Numbers 16:40 says this:

“…no unauthorized person outside the lineage of Aaron should approach to offer incense before the Lord and become like Korah and his followers.”

Chapter 3 of Numbers reveals to us the ramifications of such an authorized entrance:

• v.10: “…any unauthorized person who comes near the sanctuary is to be put to death.”
• v.38: “…Any unauthorized person who came near it was to be put to death.”

Authorization in this case was determined first by lineage. If you were not of the lineage of Aaron then you were not authorized. Lineage was proven through the use of official genealogies.

The key point about this custom is this: Certain rights, roles, and privileges were only open to a person if they could prove their lineage to a certain historical figure with whom the others in the community were familiar. Genealogies then presupposed the historicity of the figures listed in its account.

The Authorship Factor

Moses, the one through whom these commands about authorization by proof of lineage came according to the narrative, is generally believed to be the author of most of the Torah, of which both Numbers and Genesis are a part. Genesis is such a unique book with traces of thought and language that seem removed from the time frame of Moses that there is significant debate about whether Moses or someone living during or after the Babylonian exile is the author. There is less question about Moses’ authorship of Numbers than that of Genesis. For the sake of argument, let’s go with Moses.

It seems plausible that Moses would have included these genealogies for the express purpose of proving the historicity of the figures and events in his work. The people who would read his work would be familiar with recent events and figures. When they read the Torah they would see the genealogies connecting these recent events and figures with which they were familiar to these more ancient events and figures and thus confer the same historical reality to the ancient ones as they do to the recent ones.

What about later authorship? This consideration seems more forceful if the author was someone around the time of the Babylonian exile. By including the genealogies and connecting these distraught and dispersed people to their heritage and even back to the beginnings of time they would be given exactly the renewed sense of identity and purpose they would need to stay strong through their situation and rebuild when the time came. Interestingly enough this appeal to heritage and history for encouragement and edification is exactly what we see in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah when the people were once again building Jerusalem.

In Conclusion

Does this settle the debate? No, but I think it gives us strong reason to think, from a Scriptural standpoint, the events and figures we find in Genesis 1–11 were far more than myths with a merely theological reality.