Reading

15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.”

3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’“ 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; 5 for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

Commentary

Genesis is the first book of the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy). The Torah also called the Pentateuch (“five books”) in Greek. Genesis covers the period from Creation to the deaths of Jacob and his 11th son, Joseph, in about 1650 BCE, if the accounts are historical.

The Book of Genesis (like the Torah as a whole) is an amalgam of religious traditions, some of which are dated to about 950 BCE and some of which were developed as late as 450 BCE. Since the late 19th Century, Biblical scholars have recognized four major “strands” or sources in the Torah, and these sources are identified (among other ways) by their different theological emphases, names for God, names for the holy mountain, and portrayals of God’s characteristics.

Today’s reading is part of the Second Creation Story. The First Creation Story is in Genesis 1 and recounts creation in six days and God’s resting on the seventh day.

Today’s reading is part of an early tradition. One clue to the date of today’s reading is that God’s name in the New Revised Standard Version is “LORD” in all capital letters. LORD is the translation of YHWH and is a different name for God than the one used in Genesis 1 (Elohim, literally, “the gods” or “Providence”).

The earliest written tradition presented LORD God anthropomorphically – a God who formed “adam” (the Hebrew word for “earthling”) from the fertile earth (adamah in Hebrew), breathed life into the earthling, had conversations with humans, and placed “adam” in a garden to till it and keep it (2:15) – showing that productive work was part of the original blessing.

The complex myth-story of the serpent, the woman (not yet named Eve) and eating the forbidden fruit by the woman and by adam (who was “with her” – v.6) has been interpreted on many levels. Some see the story as the beginning of disorder in human relations (as opposed to the good order inherent in creation). Others see it as the development of human consciousness and the loss of innocence from knowing “good and evil” and having one’s “eyes opened” (v.7) as predicted by the serpent (v.5a)

Although the story is often taken by some Christians as an account of “Original Sin,” the word “sin” does not appear in the story. “Original Sin” was a concept developed by Augustine of Hippo (354-430 CE).

Romans 5:12-19

Reading

12 As sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned—13 sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. 14 Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come.

15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. 16 And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. 17 If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

18 Therefore, just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. 19 For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

Commentary

Paul’s letter to the Romans was his longest, last and most complex letter. It was written in the late 50s or early 60s (CE) to a Jesus Follower community that Paul did not establish. Among other messages in the letter, Paul sought to encourage respectful and supportive relationships between the Gentile Jesus Followers and the Jewish Jesus Followers in Rome.

The “backstory” is that in 49 CE, Emperor Claudius expelled all Jews from Rome, including Jewish Jesus Followers. The next Emperor was Nero who reigned from 54 to 68 CE. Nero reversed his predecessor’s decree and allowed Jews to return to Rome. This return caused tensions within the Jesus Follower Community in which Gentiles had become prominent.

In today’s reading, Paul (who remained a Jew all his life) interpreted Adam’s disobedience as introducing “sin” into the world. Through sin, death spread to all (v.12) – just as the LORD had told Adam would occur (Gen.2:17).

For Paul, the good news is that the Christ’s saving work surpasses even the effects of Adam’s disobedience. Salvation is much more than forgiveness. The obedience of Jesús the Christ brought to all (Jew and Gentile alike) the gifts of “righteousness” (being in right relation with God and others) and grace so that life now has dominion over death (v.17).

Genesis is the first book of the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy). The Torah also called the Pentateuch (five books) in Greek. Genesis covers the period from Creation to the deaths of Jacob and his 11th son, Joseph, in about 1,650 BCE, if the accounts are historical.

The Book of Genesis (like the Torah as a whole) is an amalgam of religious traditions, some of which are dated by scholars to about 950 BCE and some of which were developed as late as 450 BCE. Since the late 19th Century, Biblical scholars have recognized four major “strands” or sources in the Torah, and these sources are identified (among other ways) by their different theological emphases, names for God, names for the holy mountain, and portrayals of God’s characteristics.

In Genesis, there are two Creation Stories. In the First Story (Gen. 1:1 to 2.4a), God created humankind (men and women) in God’s image on the sixth day and told them to be fruitful and multiply (1:27-28). God rested on the seventh day.

Today’s reading is part of the Second Account of Creation that begins in Gen. 2:4b. This Second Account is attributed to the “Jahwistic” Source and is generally dated to about 950 BCE. This Source presents God’s name as YHWH (translated with all capital letters as LORD or LORD God) and gives God many anthropomorphic qualities such as speaking with humans.

In this Second Creation Story, YHWH formed an earthling/human (in Hebrew, adam) from the fertile earth/humus (in Hebrew, adamah). In today’s reading, YHWH gave the human a “partner” (in Hebrew, ezer).

Ezer is not a word often used in the Bible, and it is usually used to refer to God as the “partner” of Israel. Accordingly, the partner/ezer (the female) of the adam should not be understood as subordinate to the male. In today’s reading (somewhat amusingly), God created animals as the first attempt to find a helper/partner for the human, but then created a woman from the adam’s rib/substance to be the ezer of the man.

Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12

Although the Letter to the Hebrews is sometimes attributed to Paul, most scholars agree that it was written some time after Paul’s death in 62 CE, but before 100 CE. The letter was addressed to Jesus Followers who had suffered persecution and introduced a number of important theological themes. The first four chapters explore the word of God spoken through the Son.

In today’s reading, the author affirmed that the Son is the “exact imprint of God’s very being” (v.3) and participated in creation (just as Wisdom participated in creation as stated in Proverbs 8). He described the Son as superior to the angels, and re-interpreted Psalm 8:4-6 as referring to Jesus. The author stated that Jesus was made lower than the angels (as a human being) only “for a little while” (2:9).

Ezekiel is one of the three “Major” Prophets – so called because of the length of the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Ezekiel was a Zadokite priest (descended from the High Priest Zadok in the time of David and Solomon) and was among the first group of persons deported by the Babylonians to Babylon when they captured Jerusalem in 597 BCE. His name means “God strengthens.”

The Book of Ezekiel is in three parts: (1) Chapters 1 to 24 are prophesies of doom against Jerusalem before the destruction of the Temple in 586 BCE; (2) Chapters 25 to 32 are prophesies against foreign nations; and (3) Chapters 33 to 48 are prophesies of hope for the Judeans written during the Babylonian Exile (586-539 BCE).

Similar to other prophets, Ezekiel “prophesies” by speaking for God. Prophesy in the Hebrew Scriptures is not about telling the future. A prophet is one who speaks for YHWH.

Today’s reading is part of the “Call of Ezekiel” and follows the nearly psychedelic visions of God described in Chapter 1.

In verse 1, Ezekiel says that God addressed him as “O mortal” – the translation used 93 times in the Book of Ezekiel for the Hebrew words “ben adam.” “Ben adam” literally means “son of the earthling/human.” “Adam” was the “name” of the person who was fashioned from fertile earth (in Hebrew, “adamah”) by YHWH in Genesis.

“Ben adam” is elsewhere translated in Scripture as “Son of Man” or “human being” in Daniel 7:13, and Son of Man is a frequent title given to Jesus of Nazareth in the Gospels.

2 Corinthians 12:2-10

Corinth, a large port city in Greece, was among the early Jesus Follower communities that Paul founded. Its culture was diverse and Hellenistic. Corinthians emphasized reason and secular wisdom. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians was written in the 50’s (CE) and presented his views on many issues that were controversial in this Jesus Follower Community.

Based on internal references in the two remaining letters to the Corinthians, scholars agree that Paul likely wrote at least four letters to the Corinthians. The so-called Second Letter to the Corinthians is composed of fragments of these letters.

In today’s reading, Paul describes his own mystical experience of God as validation of his own spiritual authority. His experience is an ecstatic one (“whether in the body or out of the body I do not know”). In verse 7, Paul then spoke of a “thorn” with which he was afflicted, the nature of which is not known. Rather than asserting the Hellenistic ideal of sufficiency to overcome hardships, Paul accepted hardships as coming from God who will also give grace that is sufficient (v.9).