Genesis 1
Just in time for beginning the reading of the Torah from Genesis once again this coming Shabbat, the meaning of the first few chapters of Genesis, specifically, the meaning of ברא, is in the news. A recently published dissertation claims that
the writers of the great book never intended to suggest that God created the world — and in fact the Earth was already there when he created humans and animals.
With a bit of exaggeration, hopefully, a university spokesperson claimed
The new interpretation is a complete shake up of the story of the Creation as we know it.
The author, Prof Van Wolde, added
The traditional view of God the Creator is untenable now.
I am waiting to see what is so different about this understanding of ברא than that which has been put forth by other scholars such as John H. Walton. Walton proposed a theory of “functional Creation” versus “structural Creation.” See this post for a link to a talk by Walton. See theis posts at Ancient Hebrew Poetry for a discussion of Walton’s theory and this response by Walton. Walton is the author of Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament: Introducing the Conceptual World of the Hebrew Bible
Update: Also see this post at Ancient Hebrew Poetry in which John discusses Van Wolde’s thesis.