GENESIS 1:1-2:3: THE SEVEN DAYS OF THE COSMIC TEMPLE

Here are the links to the references we used in this teaching:

NOTE: The material in this lesson is difficult to outline in a logical or orderly way.  This is because it tends to be interwoven and mutually supporting, making it difficult to isolate the different aspects of what are closely related but separate concepts.  We have done the best we could with the following material.  We’ll just have to leave it to you and the Holy Spirit to make up for wherever we have failed.

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COSMIC TEMPLE (slide show from our teaching)

HEBREW PARALLELISM

Types of Parallelism in Hebrew Poetry

Hebrew Parallelism: Synonymous, Antithetical, and Synthetic Structures in Biblical Poetry

What’s synonymous parallelism?

What is Emblematic Parallelism?

What is Hebrew synthetic parallelism?

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THE CHIASMUS

What’s a chiastic structure in the Bible?

About Hebrew Parallelism called Chiasmus

Chiasmus in the Scriptures

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THE COSMIC TEMPLE

The Common Temple Ideology of the Ancient Near East

The Temple as Microcosm: A Comparative Look at Ancient Near Eastern Thought

The Cosmic Temple View Of Genesis One

JOHN H. WALT

NOTE: It is my (Joe’s) opinion that Walton is correct about the imagery of a cosmic temple in Genesis 1-2:3.  However, if Walton believes YHWH did not create the cosmos out of nothing but, rather, He just spoke order into a pre-existing chaos, then I have to break sharply with him as — by my understanding — this would just be another form of paganism.

Genesis 1 as Ancient Cosmology

Understanding John Walton’s Cosmic Temple

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THE MEANING OF THE NUMBER 7

What’s the biblical meaning of 7?

What is the Biblical Meaning of 7 and Its Significance in Spiritual Completeness

Seven, the Biblical Number

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THE SEVEN DAY CYCLE

Evidence of a seven-day week in the Ancient Near East—part 1

Why highlight 6-day creation in Gen 2:1?

The seven days of creation

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THE SABBATH

(This link is a great summery of the material in the second half of this teaching.)

The Sabbath Rest of God

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THE GREAT POLEMIC

Genesis 1-2 as Polemic

Genesis and the Twilight of the Gods