Prologue to History: The Yahwist as Historian in Genesis

by John Van Seters

Publisher:

Westminster John Knox

, 1992

Overview

In this fascinating study, John Van Seters makes a compelling case for a new reading of Genesis. According to Van Seters, the book of Genesis represents the prologue to a major literary work, conceived and constructed by a single writer—an intellectual and historian. Van Seters argues that the author was a true historian who wrote history in the tradition of the ancient antiquarian.

Key Features

• Investigates the nature and form of Genesis
• Proposes that Genesis is a work of ancient history
• Focuses on the activity of the Yahwist as an antiquarian historian

Contents

• The Problem of Form
• Myth and Tradition in Ancient Historiography
• Mesopotamian Traditions on the Primeval History
• Greek Traditions About the Primeval Age
• The Story of Paradise
• The Story of Cain and Abel
• The Marriage of the Sons of God
• The Story of the Flood
• The Table of Nations
• The Primeval History as a Whole
• Genealogies and Itinerates
• The Theme of the Patriarchal Promises
• The Land-Promise Theme in the Old Testament
• The Promise Theme Within the Abraham-Isaac Stories
• The Jacob Story
• Jacob and the Story of Joseph

Product Details

• Title: Prologue to History: The Yahwist as Historian in Genesis
• Author: John Van Seters
• Publisher: Westminster John Knox
• Publication Date: 1992
• Pages: 388
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Topic: Genesis

About John Van Seters

John Van Seters is a distinguished professor emeritus at University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and currently lives in Canada. He is the author of The Life of Moses, Prologue to History, and In Search of History.