Source Criticism and Narrative Criticism of Genesis Essay

Source Criticism and Narrative Criticism of Genesis - Essay Example Carvalho in her Primer on Biblical Methods (4) cited one source inconsistency in Genesis where in Genesis 6:3, God limits human life to 120 years, but Abraham lives to 175 (Gen 25:17) and Sarah to 127 (Gen 23:1). This inconsistency, however, is not just limited to age but even in the Name of the Supreme Being Himself suggesting that there were different mindsets with a different parallel universe wrote the Genesis. In Genesis 1:12:4b, the Supreme Being was addressed as Elohim whereas in Genesis 2:4b-3:24, the Supreme Being was addressed as YHWH. The same God is called by different names. The contextual placement of the narrative (for narrative criticism) was also different from each other which further suggest that the text came from different perspectives. In Genesis 1:1-2:4b where God was called Elohim, God was characterized as majestic, distant and cosmic and does not interact with man. In Genesis 2:4b-3:24 where God was called YHWH however, God is more personal and interactive as He was walking around the Garden and even talks to people. Narrative criticism is another method to evaluate the contextual integrity of the Bible. Narrative criticism invites the reader to assess the work as a whole and to note its stylistic characteristics which resemble those of other literary works with a beginning, a middle, and an end (Browning). There were basically two narratives of the creation in Genesis which sounds almost the same but close scrutiny of the narrative reveals its inconsistency.