The following is an excerpt by Walter Brueggamann as he
Gives thought about the God revealed in Chapters 1-11 in
the book of Genesis:
These chapters embody a peculiar and perceptive intellec­
tual tradition. This intellectual tradition has discerned that all
other philosophical and political questions (i.e., issues of mean­
ing and power) are subordinated to this fundamental issue of
the relation of the creator and creation. Upon that issue every­
thing else hinges, including human authority, power, and the
reality of order and freedom in human life. It is likely that the
work of these chapters is linked to the royal court which spon­
sored scientillc and philosophical investigation of the mystery
of life (cf. Prov. 25:2-3), for such investigations are closely
related to the use and the legitimation of human power.
The theologians of Israel, in these texts, face the basic mys­
tery of life upon which all social well-being de ends. The texts
appropriate materi s rom t e common traditions of the Near
East. But they handle and utilize them in a peculiarly theological
way. On the one hand, they break with the "mythological..
perception of reality which assumes that all the real action is
with the gods and creation in and of itself has no significant
value. On the other hand; they resist a "scientillc" view of
creation which assumes that the world contains its own myster­
12 ies and can be understood in terms of itself without any transcen­
dent referent. The theologians who work in a distinctively Isra­
elite way in Gen. 1-11 want to affirm at the same time (a) that
the ultimate meaning of creation is to be found in the heart and
purpose of the creator (cf. 6:5-7; 8:21) and (h) that the world has
been positively valued by God for itself. It must be valued by the
creatures to whom it has been provisionally entrusted (1:31).
This delicate statement is neither mythological (confining
meaning to the world of the gods) nor scientillc (giving creation
its own intrinsic meaning). The affirmations of Israel are dialec-.
tical. They affirm two realities in tension with each other, nei.-­
ther of which is true by itself. We have no adequate word for
this dialectical affirmation about creation which is peculiarly
Israelite. It is probably best to use the word "covenantal," as
Barth has urged (Church Dogmatics, III 1 #41; IV 1 #57). That
word affirms that the creator and the creation have to do with
each other decisively. And neither can be understood apart
from the other. (The word "covenantal'' needs to be taken in
that general sense, as in Gen. 9:8-12, and not in the more
precise ways that have been employed in some recent scholarly
discussion, for example, relating to treaty formulae. These per­
ceptions lead to two overriding theological affirmations.
First,-the creator has a purpose and a will for creation. The
creation exists only because of that will. The creator continues to
address the creation, calling it to faithful response and glad obe­
diencetohiswill. Thecreationhasnotbeen tumedlooseonitsown.
It has not been abandoned. Nor has it been given free rein for its
own inclinations. But the purposes of the creator are not imple­
mented in a coercive way nor imposed as a tyrant might. The
creator loves and respects the creation. The freedom of creation
is taken seriously by the creator. Therefore, his sovereign rule is
expressed in terms of faithfulness, patience, and anguish.·· '.
Second, the creation, which exists only because of and for
the sake of the creator's purpose, has freedom to respond to the
creator in various ways. As the texts indicate, the response of
creation to creator is a mixture of faithful obedience and recal­
citrant self-assertion. Both are present, though the negative
response tends to dominate the narrative.
These theological affirmations, then, set the main issues and
the dramatic tensions of the text: the faithful, anguished, re­
spectful purpose of the creator and creation's mixed response
of obedience and recalcitrance.
We are so familiar with these texts that we have reduced
them to cliches. But we should not miss the bold intellectual 13
effort that is offered here, nor the believing passion which
informs that intellectual effort. Israel is thinking a new thought.
In the use of their faithful imagination, Israel's theologians have
articulated a new world in which to live. The shapers of the text
are believers. They are concerned with theological reality. But
they are not obscurantists. They employ the best intellectual
data of the time. And they force the data to yield fresh insight.
heir faith is genuinely "faith seeking understanding." Their
gift to us is an alternative way of discerning reality. It is a way
which neither abdicates in "mythology'' nor usurps in auton­
omy. It is a way in which obedience is.known to be the mode
of the world willed by God. But this is not obedience which is
required or demanded. It is a grateful obedience embodied as
doxology. These texts ask if this world of mixed response can
become a creation of doxology (cf. Rev. 11:15-19).
Walter Breggemann: "Interpretations - Genesis":
John Knox Press: 1982 ; pg.12-14