This page was migrated in July 2022 from my older website, biblicalambiguities.net.
29 July 2022
The Primeval History is a term for chapters 1-11 of Genesis. The rest of Genesis focuses on the patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the twelve sons of Jacob. The Primeval History serves as a prologue to Genesis, beginning with the creation of the earth and sky and moving along to Abraham.
We begin with two creation stories: Genesis 1:1-2:3 (P) and Genesis 2 (J). These are followed by the garden of Eden, Cain and Abel, and then two genealogies: one of Cain and one of Seth, with curiously near-identical lists of fathers and sons. The genealogy of Seth leads down to Noah. After an intriguing section about the Nephilim, the story of the flood and its aftermath is told. Noah's sons father the various nations of the world. Then the account of the Tower of Babel is followed by a genealogy that leads from Shem to Terah, the father of Abraham.
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