An Essay on the Book of Genesis

The book of Genesis, in its most basic form, can be viewed as a tale of the shortcomings of human beings in the eyes of a God who created a veritable paradise, only to see it tarnished by the scourge of sin. This theory, and others, are presented in Robert Alter's "Genesis, Translation and Commentary". Due to the recurring theme of sin as seen in Genesis, and commented upon in Alter's analysis, the theme deserves more in-depth discussion.

Sin is one of the pillars of Genesis, so to speak; from the original sin of Adam and Eve, the eating of forbidden fruit which was essentially the "birth of sin", to Cain's killing of his brother Abel, to the builders of the Tower of Babel's outright affront to the power of God and the decadence of Sodom and Gomorrah, there is a pattern to be seen beyond the universal moniker of "sin". What these sins can be categorized as, categorically, are in fact sins of self enrichment, at least in the eyes of the sinner, as well as self gratification. Those who committed these sins were not concerned with the consequences of their actions, nor were they worried about the effect of the sins on others- the primary focus was how the actions would benefit them, fill some void in their psyched, or advance their power in the material world. The proliferation of these sins seems to have been fueled as well by the patriarchal nature of society at the time (Alter).

The Book of Genesis itself seems to be concerned with these kinds of self-centered sins, so to speak, but then takes these sins to a higher level, detailing how they offend God, thereby setting the stage for the events to come in subsequent books of the Bible (Alter). Ironically, Genesis does not seem to be concerned with some sins as opposed to others; for example, polygamy, which basically amounts to a form of serial adultery, is acceptable as a commonplace occurrence in every day life. In regard to this disregard of what is by all appearances a grave sin, once again, the patriarchal nature of society at the time seems to have given this sin what amounts to a pass.

In closing, perhaps what can be best said about Genesis, as well as Alter's view thereof, is that the book was not intended to be all encompassing, and in fairness, should not be viewed as such in retrospect. Rather, it should be treasured for what it is- a strong keystone in the foundation of modern religion.

Works Cited

Alter, R. Genesis:Translation and Commentary. New York: Norton P, 1996.