Editing Book of Genesis (section)

== Themes ==
[[File:Bourgeois Joseph recognized by his brothers.jpg|thumb|right|''Joseph Recognized by His Brothers'' (Léon Pierre Urban Bourgeois, 1863)]]

=== Promises to the ancestors ===
In 1978, [[David Clines]] published ''The Theme of the Pentateuch''. Considered influential as one of the first authors to take up the question of the overarching theme of the Pentateuch, Clines' conclusion was that the overall theme is "the partial fulfilment—which implies also the partial nonfulfillment—of the promise to or blessing of the Patriarchs". (By calling the fulfilment "partial", Clines was drawing attention to the fact that at the end of Deuteronomy the people of Israel are still outside Canaan.){{Sfn|Clines|1997|p=30}}

The [[Patriarchs (Bible)|patriarchs]], or ancestors, are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, with their wives (Joseph is normally excluded).{{Sfn|Hamilton|1990|p=50}} Since the name YHWH had not been revealed to them, they worshipped El in his various manifestations.{{Sfn|Collins|2007|p=47}} (It is, however, worth noting that in the Jahwist source, the patriarchs refer to deity by the name YHWH, for example in Genesis 15.) Through the patriarchs, God announces the election of Israel, that is, he chooses Israel to be his special people and commits himself to their future.{{Sfn|Brueggemann|2002|p=61}} God tells the patriarchs that he will be faithful to their descendants (i.e. to Israel), and Israel is expected to have faith in God and his promise. ("Faith" in the context of Genesis and the Hebrew Bible means an agreement to the promissory relationship, not a body of a belief.){{Sfn|Brueggemann|2002|p=78}}

The promise itself has three parts: offspring, blessings, and land.{{Sfn|McKeown|2008|p=4}} The fulfilment of the promise to each patriarch depends on having a male heir, and the story is constantly complicated by the fact that each prospective mother—[[Sarah]], [[Rebekah]] and [[Rachel]]—is barren. The ancestors, however, retain their faith in God and God in each case gives a son—in Jacob's case, twelve sons, the foundation of the chosen [[Israelites]]. Each succeeding generation of the three promises attains a more rich fulfilment, until through Joseph "all the world" attains salvation from famine,{{Sfn|Wenham|2003|p=34}} and by bringing the children of Israel down to Egypt he becomes the means through which the promise can be fulfilled.{{Sfn|Hamilton|1990|p=50}}

=== God's chosen people ===
{{Further|Jews as the chosen people}}
Scholars generally agree that the theme of divine promise unites the patriarchal cycles, but many would dispute the efficacy of trying to examine Genesis' theology by pursuing a single overarching theme, instead citing as more productive the analysis of the Abraham cycle, the Jacob cycle, and the Joseph cycle, and the [[Yahwist]] and [[Priestly source]]s.{{Sfn|Hamilton|1990|pp=38–39}} The problem lies in finding a way to unite the patriarchal theme of the divine promise to the stories of Genesis 1–11 (the [[primeval history]]) with their theme of God's forgiveness in the face of man's evil nature.{{Sfn|Hendel|1992|p=935}}{{Sfn|Kugler|Hartin|2009|p=9}} One solution is to see the patriarchal stories as resulting from God's decision not to remain alienated from humankind:{{Sfn|Kugler|Hartin|2009|p=9}} God creates the world and humans, humans rebel, and God "elects" (chooses) Abraham.{{Sfn|Bandstra|2004|pp=28–29}}

To this basic plot (which comes from the Yahwist), the Priestly source has added a series of [[covenant (biblical)|covenants]] dividing history into stages, each with its own distinctive "sign". The [[Covenant (biblical)#Noahic covenant|first covenant]] is between God and all living creatures, and is marked by the sign of the rainbow; the second is with the descendants of Abraham (Isaac and Ishmael), and its sign is [[Brit milah|circumcision]]; and the last, which does not appear until the Book of Exodus, is with Israel alone, and its sign is [[Biblical Sabbath|Sabbath]]. A great leader mediates each covenant ([[Noah]], Abraham, Moses), and at each stage God progressively reveals himself by his name ([[Elohim]] with Noah, [[El Shaddai]] with Abraham, [[Yahweh]] with Moses).{{Sfn|Bandstra|2004|pp=28–29}}

===Deception===
{{Further|Trickster}}

Throughout Genesis, various figures engage in deception or trickery to survive or prosper. Biblical scholar [[David M. Carr]] notes that such stories reflect the vulnerability felt by ancient Israelites and that "such stories can be a major way of gaining hope and resisting domination". Examples include:{{Sfn|Carr|2021|pp=50–51}}
*To avoid being killed, a patriarch (Abraham in 12:10–20 and 20:1–18 and Isaac in 26:6–11) tells a king that his [[Wife–sister narratives in the Book of Genesis|wife is only his sister and not also his wife]]. (Genesis 12:11-13 and Genesis 20:11-12)
*In chapter 25, Jacob tricks Esau into selling his birthright for a pot of lentil stew.
*In chapter 27, Isaac is tricked by Rebekah into giving Jacob the superior blessing instead of Esau.
*In chapter 29, Jacob believes he is marrying Rachel but is tricked into marrying her sister.