Loading...

Genesis

A Hypertextual Commentary

by Bartosz Adamczewski (Author) Jan Burzyński (Revision)
©2020 Monographs 288 Pages

Summary

This monograph demonstrates that the book of Genesis is a result of highly creative, hypertextual reworking of the book of Deuteronomy. This detailed reworking consists of around 1,000 strictly sequentially organized conceptual, and at times also linguistic correspondences between Genesis and Deuteronomy. The strictly sequential, hypertextual dependence on Deuteronomy explains numerous surprising features of Genesis. The critical analysis of Genesis as a coherently composed hypertextual work disproves hypotheses of the existence in this writing of Priestly and non-Priestly materials or multiple literary layers.

Table Of Contents

  • Cover
  • Title
  • Copyright
  • About the editors
  • About the book
  • This eBook can be cited
  • Contents
  • Introduction
  • Sequential hypertextuality
  • Genesis and Deuteronomy
  • Date of composition
  • Place of composition
  • Chapter 1. Gen 1–3 as a sequential hypertextual reworking of Deut 1:1–2:1
  • 1.1. Gen 1:1–2:3 (cf. Deut 1:1–5)
  • 1.2. Gen 2:4–25 (cf. Deut 1:6–18)
  • 1.3. Gen 3:1–19 (cf. Deut 1:19–40)
  • 1.4. Gen 3:20–24 (cf. Deut 1:41–2:1)
  • Chapter 2. Gen 4–11 as a sequential hypertextual reworking of Deut 2:2–5:33
  • 2.1. Gen 4:1–16 (cf. Deut 2:2–8)
  • 2.2. Gen 4:17–5:32 (cf. Deut 2:9–18)
  • 2.3. Gen 6:1–4 (cf. Deut 2:19–23)
  • 2.4. Gen 6:5–8:19 (cf. Deut 2:24–3:12b)
  • 2.5. Gen 8:20–9:7 (cf. Deut 3:12c–29)
  • 2.6. Gen 9:8–19 (cf. Deut 4:1–20)
  • 2.7. Gen 9:20–27 (cf. Deut 4:21–38)
  • 2.8. Gen 9:28–10:32 (cf. Deut 4:39–49)
  • 2.9. Gen 11:1–9 (cf. Deut 5:1–9)
  • 2.10. Gen 11:10–32 (cf. Deut 5:10–33)
  • Chapter 3. Gen 12:1–22:19 as a sequential hypertextual reworking of Deut 6–13
  • 3.1. Gen 12:1–9 (cf. Deut 6:1–19)
  • 3.2. Gen 12:10–20 (cf. Deut 6:20–22)
  • 3.3. Gen 13 (cf. Deut 6:23–7:9)
  • 3.4. Gen 14 (cf. Deut 7:10–16)
  • 3.5. Gen 15 (cf. Deut 7:17–8:10)
  • 3.6. Gen 16 (cf. Deut 8:11–20)
  • 3.7. Gen 17:1–9 (cf. Deut 9:1–10:15)
  • 3.8. Gen 17:10–27 (cf. Deut 10:16–22)
  • 3.9. Gen 18:1–19:29 (cf. Deut 11:1–7)
  • 3.10. Gen 19:30–20:18 (cf. Deut 11:8–18)
  • 3.11. Gen 21 (cf. Deut 11:19–28)
  • 3.12. Gen 22:1–10 (cf. Deut 11:29–12:28)
  • 3.13. Gen 22:11–19 (cf. Deut 12:29–13:19)
  • Chapter 4. Gen 22:20–36:43 as a sequential hypertextual reworking of Deut 14:1–23:9
  • 4.1. Gen 22:20–26:35 (cf. Deut 14:1–2)
  • 4.2. Gen 27:1–28:9 (cf. Deut 14:3–21)
  • 4.3. Gen 28:10–22 (cf. Deut 14:22–26)
  • 4.4. Gen 29:1–31:43 (cf. Deut 14:27–15:15)
  • 4.5. Gen 31:44–32:2a (cf. Deut 15:16–16:17)
  • 4.6. Gen 32:2b–33:17 (cf. Deut 16:18–20:9)
  • 4.7. Gen 33:18–34:31 (cf. Deut 20:10–23:5)
  • 4.8. Gen 35–36 (cf. Deut 23:6–9)
  • Chapter 5. Gen 37–50 as a sequential hypertextual reworking of Deut 23:10–34:12
  • 5.1. Gen 37 (cf. Deut 23:10–24:22)
  • 5.2. Gen 38 (cf. Deut 25:1–10)
  • 5.3. Gen 39 (cf. Deut 25:11–19)
  • 5.4. Gen 40 (cf. Deut 26:1–27:1)
  • 5.5. Gen 41:1–32 (cf. Deut 27:2–26)
  • 5.6. Gen 41:33–57 (cf. Deut 28:1–12)
  • 5.7. Gen 42 (cf. Deut 28:13–22)
  • 5.8. Gen 43 (cf. Deut 28:23–44)
  • 5.9. Gen 44 (cf. Deut 28:45–57)
  • 5.10. Gen 45 (cf. Deut 28:58–29:5)
  • 5.11. Gen 46:1–47:12 (cf. Deut 29:6–21c)
  • 5.12. Gen 47:13–26 (cf. Deut 29:21d–30:14)
  • 5.13. Gen 47:27–31 (cf. Deut 30:15–20)
  • 5.14. Gen 48 (cf. Deut 31:1–27)
  • 5.15. Gen 49:1–50:1 (cf. Deut 31:28–34:5)
  • 5.16. Gen 50:2–26 (cf. Deut 34:6–12)
  • General conclusions
  • Bibliography
  • Primary sources
  • General
  • Mesopotamian
  • Israelite-Jewish
  • Greek
  • Secondary literature
  • Index of ancient sources
  • Series index

cover

Bibliographic Information published by the Deutsche
Nationalbibliothek

The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in
the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic
data is available online at
http://dnb.d-nb.de.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A CIP catalog record for this book has been applied for at
the Library of Congress.

About the author

Bartosz Adamczewski is Associate Professor of biblical sciences at Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw (Poland). He has published eleven books and numerous articles on the relationships between biblical writings and also on their relationships with historical facts.

About the book

This monograph demonstrates that the book of Genesis is a result of highly creative, hypertextual reworking of the book of Deuteronomy. This detailed reworking consists of around 1,000 strictly sequentially organized conceptual, and at times also linguistic correspondences between Genesis and Deuteronomy. The strictly sequential, hypertextual dependence on Deuteronomy explains numerous surprising features of Genesis. The critical analysis of Genesis as a coherently composed hypertextual work disproves hypotheses of the existence in this writing of Priestly and non-Priestly materials or multiple literary layers.

This eBook can be cited

This edition of the eBook can be cited. To enable this we have marked the start and end of a page. In cases where a word straddles a page break, the marker is placed inside the word at exactly the same position as in the physical book. This means that occasionally a word might be bifurcated by this marker.

Contents

Introduction

Sequential hypertextuality

Genesis and Deuteronomy

Date of composition

Place of composition

Chapter 1. Gen 1–3 as a sequential hypertextual reworking of Deut 1:1–2:1

1.1. Gen 1:1–2:3 (cf. Deut 1:1–5)

1.2. Gen 2:4–25 (cf. Deut 1:6–18)

1.3. Gen 3:1–19 (cf. Deut 1:19–40)

1.4. Gen 3:20–24 (cf. Deut 1:41–2:1)

Chapter 2. Gen 4–11 as a sequential hypertextual reworking of Deut 2:2–5:33

2.1. Gen 4:1–16 (cf. Deut 2:2–8)

2.2. Gen 4:17–5:32 (cf. Deut 2:9–18)

2.3. Gen 6:1–4 (cf. Deut 2:19–23)

2.4. Gen 6:5–8:19 (cf. Deut 2:24–3:12b)

2.5. Gen 8:20–9:7 (cf. Deut 3:12c–29)

2.6. Gen 9:8–19 (cf. Deut 4:1–20)

2.7. Gen 9:20–27 (cf. Deut 4:21–38)

2.8. Gen 9:28–10:32 (cf. Deut 4:39–49)

2.9. Gen 11:1–9 (cf. Deut 5:1–9)

2.10. Gen 11:10–32 (cf. Deut 5:10–33)

Chapter 3. Gen 12:1–22:19 as a sequential hypertextual reworking of Deut 6–13

3.1. Gen 12:1–9 (cf. Deut 6:1–19)

3.2. Gen 12:10–20 (cf. Deut 6:20–22)

3.3. Gen 13 (cf. Deut 6:23–7:9)

3.4. Gen 14 (cf. Deut 7:10–16)

3.5. Gen 15 (cf. Deut 7:17–8:10)

3.6. Gen 16 (cf. Deut 8:11–20)

3.7. Gen 17:1–9 (cf. Deut 9:1–10:15)

3.8. Gen 17:10–27 (cf. Deut 10:16–22)

3.9. Gen 18:1–19:29 (cf. Deut 11:1–7)

3.10. Gen 19:30–20:18 (cf. Deut 11:8–18)

3.11. Gen 21 (cf. Deut 11:19–28)

3.12. Gen 22:1–10 (cf. Deut 11:29–12:28)

3.13. Gen 22:11–19 (cf. Deut 12:29–13:19)

Chapter 4. Gen 22:20–36:43 as a sequential hypertextual reworking of Deut 14:1–23:9

4.1. Gen 22:20–26:35 (cf. Deut 14:1–2)

4.2. Gen 27:1–28:9 (cf. Deut 14:3–21)

4.3. Gen 28:10–22 (cf. Deut 14:22–26)

4.4. Gen 29:1–31:43 (cf. Deut 14:27–15:15)

4.5. Gen 31:44–32:2a (cf. Deut 15:16–16:17)

4.6. Gen 32:2b–33:17 (cf. Deut 16:18–20:9)

4.7. Gen 33:18–34:31 (cf. Deut 20:10–23:5)

4.8. Gen 35–36 (cf. Deut 23:6–9)

Chapter 5. Gen 37–50 as a sequential hypertextual reworking of Deut 23:10–34:12

5.1. Gen 37 (cf. Deut 23:10–24:22)

5.2. Gen 38 (cf. Deut 25:1–10)

5.3. Gen 39 (cf. Deut 25:11–19)

5.4. Gen 40 (cf. Deut 26:1–27:1)

5.5. Gen 41:1–32 (cf. Deut 27:2–26)

5.6. Gen 41:33–57 (cf. Deut 28:1–12)

5.7. Gen 42 (cf. Deut 28:13–22)

5.8. Gen 43 (cf. Deut 28:23–44)

5.9. Gen 44 (cf. Deut 28:45–57)

5.10. Gen 45 (cf. Deut 28:58–29:5)

5.11. Gen 46:1–47:12 (cf. Deut 29:6–21c)

5.12. Gen 47:13–26 (cf. Deut 29:21d–30:14)

5.13. Gen 47:27–31 (cf. Deut 30:15–20)

5.14. Gen 48 (cf. Deut 31:1–27)

5.15. Gen 49:1–50:1 (cf. Deut 31:28–34:5)

5.16. Gen 50:2–26 (cf. Deut 34:6–12)

General conclusions

Bibliography

Primary sources

General

Mesopotamian

Israelite-Jewish

Greek

Secondary literature

Index of ancient sources

←10 | 11→

Introduction

The style of this monograph is highly repetitive, resembling that of Gen 5. This ‘minimalistic’ style of scholarly analysis directs the attention of the reader to the hitherto unknown phenomenon of one thousand sequentially arranged, conceptual, but often also linguistic, hypertextual correspondences between Genesis and Deuteronomy. The discovery of this phenomenon radically changes our understanding of the book of Genesis: its origin, literary character, and theological ideas. It reveals that Genesis as a whole, and not just some fragments thereof (the story of Eden etc.), was consistently written as a hypertextual reworking of Deuteronomy.

The English translations of Hebrew words, phrases, and sentences of Genesis, which are used in this monograph, are often as literal as possible, even at the cost of incorrectness of the English grammar and style (‘land’ instead of ‘earth,’ ‘do’ instead of ‘make,’ etc.), to show the linguistic and conceptual connections between Genesis and Deuteronomy, which are often only detectable in the original Hebrew text.

Sequential hypertextuality

The methodological approach adopted in this monograph is not based on any widely used modern exegetical method. These methods are generally based on various presuppositions, for example, that the biblical texts are similar to other ancient texts, that they have some diachrony, that they have some internal narrative coherence, that they convey some coherent ideas, etc., which are not necessarily true. The approach adopted in this monograph is therefore based on a close reading and a comparative analysis of the biblical texts as we have them, with paying particular attention to the order of their ideas and to their minor, somewhat surprising details, which are rarely scrutinized by other scholars. Thus, in a critical and verifiable way, it explains numerous data of the biblical texts which are very difficult to explain with the use of more widely known biblical methods, a feature which from a general methodological point of view constitutes its greatest advantage over them.1

←11 | 12→

This methodological approach was already adopted and refined in my earlier monographs concerning various biblical writings. These studies revealed that the sequentially arranged, hypertextual connections between the New Testament Gospels and their hypotexts can be counted not in tens, as I had earlier thought, but in hundreds.2 The present monograph likewise presupposes and develops the results of my earlier study on Genesis, in which I argued that there are thirty sequentially arranged, hypertextual connections between Genesis and Deuteronomy.3

According to the French literary theorist Gérard Genette, hypertextuality can be defined as any relationship uniting a text B (which is in such a case called hypertext) to an earlier text A (which is called hypotext), upon which it grafts itself in a manner that is not that of commentary.4 Accordingly, a hypertextual relationship of a given text to a hypotext by definition does not consist in directly commenting on the hypotext, its ideas, literary features, phraseology, etc. Therefore, a hypertextual relationship may include some linguistic connections between the hypertext and the hypotext, but it may also be purely conceptual. For this reason, although the presence of shared language, especially unique to two given texts, is a useful preliminary indicator of some kind of literary relationship between them, the volume of shared language should not be regarded as the primary criterion for detecting literary dependence between two given texts, especially ancient Near Eastern texts.5

←12 | 13→

My analyses of the phenomenon of hypertextuality in biblical writings reveal that the most important criterion for detecting a hypertextual relationship between two given biblical writings is the criterion of the order of their hypertextual correspondences. If two given works reveal conceptual and/or linguistic correspondences which follow a sequential pattern, it is reasonable to argue that the author of one of these works in a hypertextual way reworked the other work, preserving the basic sequence of its ideas, concepts, literary motifs, etc. In such a case, the relationship between these works may be called sequential hypertextuality.

Jeffrey M. Leonard makes use of this criterion in his identification of the allusive technique called ‘narrative tracking.’6 Leonard’s criterion of detecting the mimicking of the narrative structure of an earlier text in a later text can certainly be applied to the narrative parts of Deuteronomy and Genesis (God showing the good land, the entry to the paradisiacal land, the original sin of regarding good as bad, the expulsion from the paradisiacal land, dealing with a weaker brother, etc.). However, the phenomenon of the common order of ideas, concepts, motifs, specific vocabulary, etc. can be much broader than that of the presence of ‘narrative tracking’ because it can also be detected in non-narrative or only partly narrative texts.

In the cases in which the level of verbal agreement between the conceptually corresponding fragments of two given works is very low, and consequently the relationship between both works is truly hypertextual, the criterion of order is particularly useful. In such cases, the weakness of purely linguistic signals of literary dependence (quoted or imitated sentences, reproduced characteristic phrases, characteristic vocabulary, etc.) is recompensed by the consistency of the strictly sequential reworking of the conceptual elements (ideas, images, arguments, references to time, directions of movement in space, actions taken, features of the characters, etc.) of one work in the other one.

Details

Pages
288
Year
2020
ISBN (PDF)
9783631838495
ISBN (ePUB)
9783631838501
ISBN (MOBI)
9783631838518
ISBN (Hardcover)
9783631837566
DOI
10.3726/b17720
Language
English
Publication date
2021 (January)
Keywords
Book of Genesis Book of Deuteronomy Intertextuality Israel Judah Persian Period
Published
Berlin, Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Warszawa, Wien, 2020. 288 pp.

Biographical notes

Bartosz Adamczewski (Author) Jan Burzyński (Revision)

Bartosz Adamczewski is Associate Professor of biblical sciences at Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw (Poland). He has published eleven books and numerous articles on the relationships between biblical writings and also on their relationships with historical facts.

Previous

Title: Genesis
book preview page numper 1
book preview page numper 2
book preview page numper 3
book preview page numper 4
book preview page numper 5
book preview page numper 6
book preview page numper 7
book preview page numper 8
book preview page numper 9
book preview page numper 10
book preview page numper 11
book preview page numper 12
book preview page numper 13
book preview page numper 14
book preview page numper 15
book preview page numper 16
book preview page numper 17
book preview page numper 18
book preview page numper 19
book preview page numper 20
book preview page numper 21
book preview page numper 22
book preview page numper 23
book preview page numper 24
book preview page numper 25
book preview page numper 26
book preview page numper 27
book preview page numper 28
book preview page numper 29
book preview page numper 30
book preview page numper 31
book preview page numper 32
book preview page numper 33
book preview page numper 34
book preview page numper 35
book preview page numper 36
book preview page numper 37
book preview page numper 38
book preview page numper 39
book preview page numper 40
290 pages