Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament)
Author(s) of the Book of Genesis:
Chapters 3 & 4
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Background (Repeated):
According to Jewish and Christian tradition, the first five books of the
Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) were written by Moses under the inspiration of
God. God inspired Moses to write the truth and prevented him from making any
errors. Many conservative Christians and Jews continue with this belief.
However, mainline & liberal theologians and secularists generally accept the "Documentary
Hypothesis" which asserts that the Pentateuch was written by five authors or groups of
authors, from diverse locations, over a period of centuries. Each
wrote with the goal of promoting his/her own religious views. In Genesis:
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J: a writer who used Yahweh/Jehovah as
the divine name.
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P: a writer who added material of major
interest to the priesthood.
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R: a redactor who welded the contributions of J and P together
into the present Pentateuch.
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Chapters 3 & 4 of the book of Genesis are
reprinted below. 1 The original author or group of authors, according to the Documentary
Hypothesis, was "J.". We follow the identification by R.E. Friedman. 2,3
CHAPTER 3:
1 (J)
Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God
had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of
every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit
of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the
garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest
ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely
die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your
eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and
that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she
took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her;
and he did eat.
7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that
they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the
garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the
presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where
art thou?
10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was
afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou
eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me,
she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that
thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast
done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field;
upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and
between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise
his heel.
16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow
and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire
shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the
voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee,
saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow
shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and
thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou
return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and
unto dust shalt thou return.
20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the
mother of all living.
21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats
of skins, and clothed them.
22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of
us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of
the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of
Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the
garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep
the way of the tree of life.
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CHAPTER 4:
1 (J) And Adam knew Eve his wife; and
she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper
of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of
the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and
of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And
Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is
thy countenance fallen?
7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou
doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and
thou shalt rule over him.
8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass,
when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and
slew him.
9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And
he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?
10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy
brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.
11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened
her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;
12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield
unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
13 And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than
I can bear.
14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of
the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a
vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me
shall slay me.
15 And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth
Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon
Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
16 And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt
in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
17 And Cain knew his wife; and she
conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the
city, after the name of his son, Enoch.
18 And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and
Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.
19 And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was
Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.
20 And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in
tents, and of such as have cattle.
21 And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all
such as handle the harp and organ.
22 And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every
artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.
23 And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my
voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my
wounding, and a young man to my hurt.
24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy
and sevenfold.
25 And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and
called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead
of Abel, whom Cain slew.
26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he
called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.
References used:
- The book of Genesis from the King James Version of the Bible.
- R.E. Friedman, "Who Wrote the Bible?" HarperCollins, (1997), Pages 246-247. Read reviews or
order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store
- R.E. Friedman, "The hidden book in the Bible: The discovery of the
first prose masterpiece," Haper San Francisco. Review/order this
book. The author traces the "J" component of the first four books
of the Bible. He writes: "Readers have an opportunity to see
the first great prose writer's full achievement; an epic work of the
struggle between God and humans. and between good and bad.
Copyright 1998 to 2011 by Ontario Consultants on
Religious Tolerance.
Latest update: 2011-FEB-01
Author: B.A. Robinson, & "P"
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