Page:A Jewish Interpretation of the Book of Genesis (Morgenstern, 1919, jewishinterpreta00morg).pdf/45

 TJic

A

Book of Genesis

moment's thought shows

27

that the rehgious

and

ethical

teachings of Genesis, and the evident, underlying purpose of the entire hook accord completely with the teachings of the

great prophets of

Israel.

The conceptions

of

God

as

the

and of the absolute goodness of His creation, of human free-will and resj^onsibility, of sin and repentance, of the divine selection and preparation of Israel, of the purifying and ennobling effects of God's trial of His children, of the manifestation of God's power, providence, and sole Creator,

love in

human

history, these

and

the other teachings of

all

Genesis find repeated and detailed expression in the sublime prophets.

Or,

teachings

the

utterances

of

of

prophets are concretely illustrated and enforced

Israel's

Israel's

rather,

For the most part the prophets and teachings in abstract form. But the unedu'I'hey could hardly have done otherwise. comprehend only dimly cated and untrained masses could the full significance and application to their own lives of the

])y

these stories of Genesis.

presented

their

thoughts

today the

human mind

prophets' words.

Still

and more natural

to visualize ideas

rather than abstractly.

and

finds

to think

it

easier

concretely

Could the teachings of the prophets

be expressed concretely, and their application to the lives of individuals and to the collective life of Israel be positively illustrated, they

and

in

plied

all

would

likelihood

certainly be much much more widely

better understood,

accepted and ap-

by the people.

Just this was the underlying and conscious purpose of most of these writers of Genesis and not merely of the

waiters of Genesis, but of the authors of the greater part of the Pentateuch and of a considerable portion of the entire Bible.

Hosea proclaimed

the

doctrine

of

repentance

and

divine love and forgiveness, but the stories of the flood, of

Sodom and Gomorrah, and of Jacob showed concretely what is, and how divine forgiveness may be attained. Isaiah spoke of faith, but the story of Abraham

true repentance