Genesis Vol 3.pdf - College Press

1 5 : 1-21 GENESIS I
phetic disclosure (vv. 12-1 6) , and finally darkness with
the symbolic ratification of the covenant, The narrative
is consistent throughout and develops regularly from first
to last.” 2. That a vision is announced in v. 1, but it cannot
possibly be continued through the chapter, Green
(ibid., 203): “Knobel thinks the vision does not begin till
v. 12, and ends with v. 16. This is plainly a mistake; the
communication in v. 1 is espressly said to have been made
in a vision. Whether all the communications in the chapter
were similarly made, and only vv. 10, 11 belong to
Abram’s ordinary state, or whether the vision is limited to
vv. 1-6, as Wellhausen supposes, it may be difficult to determine,
and it is of no account as nothing is dependent
on the mode in which the revelation was given.” 3. That
v. 8 is inconsistent with v. 6. In the latter Abram is said
to have believed the Lord; and yet he asks in the former for
a visible token of the truth of God’s word.” Green (ibid.,
203) : “But this request does not indicate doubt or distrust,
but rather a desire for a more complete assurance and a
fresh confirmation of his faith in the fulfilment of promises
so far transcending all natural expectation.” (ibid., p.
208) : “It is plain enough that no partition of the chapter
has been found possible. The signs of its composite character
are hard to discover. Its lack of conformity to any
one of the so-called documents discredits these documents,
not the unity of the chapter.” (But-can any measured
time sequence be ascribed to prophetic vision?) Again,
we have an instance in which the ultra-intellectualized
mentality is unable to see the forest for the trees: unfortunately,
this defect is, in most cases, a manifestation of
the will to find discrepancies (where none actually exist)
for the ultimate purpose of discrediting the trustworthiness
of the Bible.
The content of this chapter (15) divides naturally
into four parts: Sign, the Oracle, and the
Covenant.
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