About the Book

An electronic edition of Skinner's main work. The book reviews the structure and assumed sources of the text, brings out related Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, Arabic and other texts to clarify problems, and explains where he differs from other interpretations. His discussion is the most detailed of those on this page, and, perhaps because of the then still-widespread disagreement over the documentar...

About the Author

John Skinner ---

John Skinner studied in Scotland and Germany at the end of the 19th century. He had pulpits in the Free Church of Scotland 1880-1890, until in 1890 he was elected to the faculty of what is now Westminster College, Cambridge. There he became one of the earliest English-language scholars to incorporate the documentary hypothesis in his teaching and writing, and his lectures were described as clear, illuminating, and impressive. Skinner was elected Principal (i.e., Dean) in 1908, and given Principal Emeritus status in 1922. His 1910 Genesis was for many years the standard English-language text, and he died in 1925 while revising it.

Contents

C O N T E N T S .

List of Abbreviations . . . . . . . xiii–xxi
Introduction. . . . . . . . . i–lxvi
    § 1. Name, Canonical Position, and General Scope of
        the Book . . . . . . . . i
        A. The Narrative Material of Genesis.
    § 2. History or Legend?. . . . . . . iii
    § 3. Myth and Legend—Foreign Myths—Types of
Mythical Motive . . . . . . ix
    § 4. Style and Form of the Legends—Prose or Poetry? . xiv
    § 5. Preservation and Collection of the Legends . . xx
    § 6. Historical Aspects of the Tradition . . . xxiv
B. Structure and Composition of the Book.
    § 7. The Critical Analysis . . . . . xlii
    § 8. Composite Structure of J and E—Individuals or
        Schools? . . . . . . xlv
    § 9. Characteristics of J and E—their Relation to
Prophecy . . . . . . xlix
    § 10. Date and Place of Origin—Redaction of JE . liv
    § 11. The Priestly Code and the Final Redaction . lviii
    § 12. Plan and Divisions of the Book . . lxv
Commentary . . . . . . . . . 1–540
Extended Notes:—
The Divine Image in Man . . . . . . . 31
The Hebrew and Babylonian Sabbath . . . . . 38
Babylonian and other Cosmogonies . . . . . 41–50
The Site of Eden . . . . . . . . 62–66
The ‘Protevangelium'. . . . . . . . 80
The Cherubim . . . . . . . . . 89
Origin and Significance of the Paradise Legend . . . 90–97
Origin of the Cain Legend . . . . . . . 111–115
The Cainite Genealogy . . . . . . . 122–124
The Chronology of Ch. 5, etc. . . . . . . 134–139
The Deluge Tradition. . . . . . . . 174–181
Noah's Curse and Blessing. . . . . . . 185–187
The Babel Legend . . . . . . . 228–231
Chronology of 1110 ff. . . . . . . . 233
Historic Value of Ch. 14 . . . . . . 271–276
Circumcision . . . . . . . . 296
The Covenant-Idea in P . . . . . . 297
Destruction of the Cities of the Plain . . . . 310
The Sacrifice of Isaac . . . . . . 331
The Treaty of Gilead and its Historical Setting . . 402
The Legend of Peniel . . . . . . 411
The Sack of Shechem . . . . . . 421
The Edomite Genealogies . . . . . 436
The Degradation of Reuben . . . . . 515
The Fate of Simeon and Levi . . . . . 518
The “Shiloh” Prophecy of 4910 . . . . . 521–524
The Zodiacal Theory of the Twelve Tribes . . 534
Index—I. English . . . . . . . 541–548
II. Hebrew . . . . . . . 549–552

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