The Lost World of Genesis One-Session 7

In the traditional view that Genesis 1 is an account of material origins, day seven is mystifying. It appears to be nothing more than an afterthought with theological concerns about Israelites observing the sabbath—an appendix, a postscript, a tack on.

READ GEN 2:1-2

In contrast, a reader from the ancient world would know immediately what was going on and recognize the role of day seven. Without hesitation the ancient reader would conclude that this is a temple text and that day seven is the most important of the seven days. In a material account day seven would have little role, but in a functional account, as we will see, it is the true climax without which nothing else would make any sense or have any meaning.

How could reactions be so different? The difference is the piece of information that everyone knew in the ancient world and to which most modern readers are totally oblivious: Deity rests in a temple, and only in a temple. This is what temples were built for. We might even say that this is what a temple is—a place for divine rest. Perhaps even more significant, in some texts the construction of a temple is associated with cosmic creation.

What does divine rest entail?

Most of us think of rest as disengagement from the cares, worries and tasks of life. What comes to mind is sleeping in or taking an afternoon nap. But in the ancient world rest is what results when a crisis has been resolved or when stability has been achieved, when things have “settled down.” Consequently normal routines can be established and enjoyed. For deity this means that the normal operations of the cosmos can be undertaken. This is more a matter of engagement without obstacles rather than disengagement without responsibilities.

Before we proceed, it is important to look at the terminology used by the author. The Hebrew verb

šābat

(Gen 2:2) from which our term “sabbath” is derived has the basic meaning of “ceasing” (cf. Josh 5:12; Job 32:1). Semantically it refers to the completion of certain activity with which one had been occupied. This cessation leads into a new state which is described by another set of words, the verb

nûḥa

and its associated noun,

mĕnûḥâ

The verb involves entering a position of safety, security or stability and the noun refers to the place where that is found. The verb šābat describes a transition into the activity or inactivity of nûḥa. We know that when God rests (ceases, šābat) on the seventh day in Genesis 2, he also transitions into the condition of stability (nûḥa) because that is the terminology used in Exodus 20:11. The only other occurrence of the verb šābat with God as the subject is in Exodus 31:17. The most important verses to draw all of this information together are found in Psalm 132:7–8, 13–14.

READ PSALM 132:7-8

READ PSALM 132:13-14

Here the “dwelling place” of God translates a term that describes the tabernacle and temple, and this is where his footstool (the ark) is located. This also shows that the text is referring to his dwelling place as his throne room and the place of his rule (because of the footstool). In verse 8 the “footstool” is paralleled by the ark, and the temple (“dwelling place”) is paralleled with “resting place” (mĕnûḥâ). This demonstrates that the temple is the place where he rests. In verse 13 the text again refers to his dwelling in Zion, thus referring to the temple. Then verse 14 uses “resting place” (mĕnûḥâ) again identifying it as the place where he is enthroned. Thus, this Psalm pulls together the ideas of divine rest, temple and enthronement. God’s “ceasing” (šābat) on the seventh day in Genesis 2:2 leads to his “rest” (nûḥa), associated with the seventh day in Exodus 20:11. His “rest” is located in his “resting place” (mĕnûḥâ) in Psalm 132, which also identifies it as the temple from which he rules. After creation, God takes up his rest and rules from his residence. This is not new theology for the ancient world—it is what all peoples understood about their gods and their temples.

In the Old Testament the idea that rest involves engagement in the normal activities that can be carried out when stability has been achieved can be seen in the passages where God talks of giving Israel rest in the land:

But you will cross the Jordan and settle in the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance and he will give you rest from all your enemies around you so that you will live in safety. (Deut 12:10; cf. Josh 21:44; 23:1)

Although security and stability might allow one to relax, more importantly it allows life to resume its normal routines. When Israel’s enemies no longer threaten, they can go about their lives: planting and harvesting, buying and selling, raising their families and serving their God.

In the same way, a temple is built in the ancient world so that deity can have a center for his rule. The temple is the residence and palace of the gods. Like the American White House, it is the hub of authority and control. It is where the work of running the country takes place. When a newly elected president looks forward to taking up his residence in the White House, it is not simply so he can kick off his shoes and snooze in the Lincoln bedroom. It is so he can begin the work of running the country. Thus in ancient terms the president “takes up his rest” in the White House. This is far from relaxation. The turmoil and uncertainty of the election is over, and now he can settle down to the important business at hand.

The role of the temple in the ancient world is not primarily a place for people to gather in worship like modern churches. It is a place for the deity—sacred space. It is his home, but more importantly his headquarters—the control room. When the deity rests in the temple it means that he is taking command, that he is mounting to his throne to assume his rightful place and his proper role.

In ancient Near Eastern literature this concept appears early and often. One of the earliest available Sumerian literary pieces is the Temple Hymn of Keš:

House … inspiring great awe, called with a mighty name by An; house … whose fate is grandly determined by the Great Mountain Enlil! House of the Anuna gods possessing great power, which gives wisdom to the people; house, reposeful dwelling of the great gods! House, which was planned together with the plans of heaven and earth, … with the pure divine powers; house which underpins the Land and supports the shrines!

In this hymn we can see the idea that the temple is a place of rest (“reposeful dwelling”), that it is central in functional creation (“planned together with the plans of heaven and earth”), and that it is the place from which control is exercised (“underpins the land”).

In the famous Babylonian creation epic, Enuma Elish, the work of creation by Marduk is followed by the building of a temple for him. Note the following: The gods give Marduk kingship (5.113), and Marduk responds with the statement, “Below the firmament, whose grounding I have made firm, A house I shall build, let it be the abode of my pleasure. Within it I shall establish its holy place, I shall appoint my holy chambers, I shall establish my kingship” (5.121–24). This place is to be the “stopping place” of the gods (5.138). After humankind is created at the beginning of tablet six and the gods are given their responsibilities, the head gods make a declaration: “We will make a shrine, whose name will be a byword, your chamber that shall be our stopping place, we shall find rest therein” (6.51–52). These sections demonstrate the close relationship between creation (cosmic and human), organization of the cosmos, rest, temple and rule.

God’s resting in Genesis 1 does not specifically describe his engagement of the controls, but it describes the opportunity to do so. He can disengage from the set-up tasks and begin regular operations. It would be similar to getting a new computer and spending focused time setting it up (placing the equipment, connecting the wires, installing the software). After all of those tasks were done, you would disengage from that process, mostly so you could now engage in the new tasks of actually using the computer. That is what it had been set up for.

Sometimes people have raised the question, What did God do on the eighth day? In the view being presented here, on the eighth day, and on every day since then, he is in the control room from where he runs the cosmos that he set up. This is the ongoing work of creation. When we thought of Genesis 1 as an account of material origins, creation became an action in the past that is over and done with. God made objects and now the cosmos exists (materially). Viewing Genesis 1 as an account of functional origins offers more opportunity for understanding that God’s creative work continues (more about this in chapter 15).

Now that we have been given the interpretive key from the world of the ancient Near East (and verified in other portions of the Bible as well) that divine rest is in a temple, we can begin to unpack the significance of this information for further understanding Genesis 1. What are the implications of identifying Genesis 1 as a “temple text”? What temple is being referred to, and what does that tell us about Genesis 1 and about theology? These are the topics to be addressed in the next several chapters.

SUMMARY

So just to recap. God’s rest on the seventh day is not about God sitting back and taking a nap. This should help us realize that there are things going on the ancient world that we don’t know about. This verse seems strange to us. The problem is we don’t know how temple’s worked on the ancient world. We may ask what do temples have to do with this? EVERYTHING!!! In the OT temples were built as a place for God to rest. So if you are taking about a deity resting in the ancient world. Indirectly you are taking about a temple. In the ancient world to “rest” in a temple is to “rule”. This is not readily apparent to us. The temple was the control room. So when God takes up his rest. He is taking up his place of control. God’s rest is not disengaging. Like relaxation and leisure. God’s rest is him taking control. He is at the helm. He has brought stability. Now he is going to maintain that stability. From this perspective God’s rest becomes the climax of creation. This idea of rest can be extended to Isreal as well. When God tell them he will give them “rest” from their enemies. It is not rest that involves leisure time or inactivity. The rest is stability in their lives to allow them to engage in the tasks God has given them.

When Jesus says

This is about kingdom work. It is about the stability of the kingdom. Rest is connected to stability. We have trouble understanding this when we try to make the account in Genesis a material account. God has set up this world as his Home. Rest is the objective of creation. Moving into new place. Without day seven. Days 1-6 do not make any sense at all. House vs home analogy. Bed and breakfast. This is all about God’s role in the world and His presence here among us.

Up Next: The Cosmos Is a Temple

Technical Support

Andreasen, N.-E. The Old Testament Sabbath: A Tradition-Historical Investigation. SBL Dissertation Series. Missoula, Mont.: Society of Biblical Literature, 1972.

Laansma, J. I Will Give You Rest. Tübingen: Mohr, 1997.[1]

[1] Walton, J. H. (2009). The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate (pp. 71–76). Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic.

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