Through the Waters: A Biblical Theology of the Book of Genesis

by Caleb S Lewis

Links to the Exodus and the Day of Atonement are found throughout the book of Genesis. These links are so pervasive that, though often overlooked, they are an integral part of the literary strategy of the author of Genesis. The goal of Through the Waters is to aid the reader in understanding the book of Genesis as the author intended, taking into account its literary and historical features. The goal is not only to understand each section of the book of Genesis on its own but also to understand how each section contributes to the book as a unified narrative. As each narrative section is explored and explained, the presence of the Exodus motif, or pattern, and what will be referred to as the Two-Goats motif will be highlighted. As these motifs are understood in the context of the text of Genesis, it will be seen how they contribute to the literary structure and to the tensions, expectations, and hope created by the book of Genesis.

328 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 11, 2024

Reviews

[Nathan Ellzey · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a nutshell, Lewis outlines two motifs from the Torah that are significant, not just for Genesis, but for the whole metanarrative of the Bible. Then he traces the use of these motifs through every story in the whole book of Genesis. And he does an absolutely fantastic job of it. Even when he discusses story elements that are not related to either motif, I simply could not put my highlighter down. (Please note – this is not for beginners. If you aren’t familiar with the use of literary motifs in the Bible, you might want to investigate more introductory material, perhaps the work of Leland Rykan or the BibleProject videos and (especially) podcasts.)

Knowledge of Biblical Hebrew is not required for this book, but it does discuss various elements from the Hebrew of the stories.