Kingship is one of the important themes of Genesis. This study argues that the book as a whole intimates the advent of a royal descendant ofAbraham. The concept is inextricably associated with the overall message of Genesis and is introduced in the very first chapter when God commissions human beings to be his viceroys. Soon afterwards, howevG, the account of events in the garden ofEden highlight humankind's disobedience. This is, in part, qttributed to their failure to exercise dominion as God instructed them at creation. By doing the bidding ofthe serpent, the human couple abdicate their responsibility to God and, in doing so, transfer the authority entrusted to them over to God's enemy. In pronouncing judgement upon the serpent, God announces that one day the serpent will be overcome through a descendant (seed) ofthe woman. The concept of a future royal descendant is subsequently developed on the basis of this pronouncement through a number offeatures, including importantly the book's genealogical structure. The structure connects the woman's son, Seth with Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Judah, forming a distinctive line. Genesis suggests that the distinctive line will become a royal line, from which a king will come, through whom the nations ofthe earth will be blessed. Genesis concludes by associating this future royal descendant with two separate lineages: one stems from Joseph and the other from Judah. While the book intimates that Joseph's lineage is given the priority to advance the promise of future royalty, it also hints that eventually Judah's lineage will supplant Joseph's lineage and the future royal descendant will be from the tribe ofJudah. This interpretation of Genesis finds support in the extended narrative that continues through the books of Exodus to Kings.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:491944 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Goh, Tjung Seng |
| Publisher | Queen's University Belfast |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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