A Lifetime of Genesis

An Exploration of and Personal Journey Through the Covenant of Abraham in Genesis

Henry A. Zoob

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN:
  9781498295055
  9781498295079
• eBook ISBN:
  9781498295062
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Criticism & Interpretation

For many readers of the Bible, there are two major obstacles to the enjoyment of scripture: comprehension and relevancy. In A Lifetime of Genesis, Rabbi Zoob seeks to help the reader overcome these obstacles. In clear, logical prose, Rabbi Zoob explains the course of the Covenant of Abraham in Genesis and how each major player--Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and Leah--has an impact on the development and continuity of the Covenant of Abraham. He solves the relevancy problem by sharing stories from his life that are connected to the patriarchal and matriarchal events and themes in each previous chapter. For example, following an analysis of the challenge of infertility that Abraham and Sarah faced, he tells the story of how he and his wife Barbara struggled through thirteen years of childlessness. And after the chapter on how Jacob wrestled with the angel and the many challenges in his life, Rabbi Zoob recalls his sibling struggles with his brother and his wrestling with seasonal depression. Rabbi Zoob hopes that his use of this midrashic process to discover personal insights will encourage the reader to do the same.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Acknowledgments
• Introductory Notes
• Notes on Hebrew Transliteration
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Genesis and the Purpose of Creation
• Chapter 2: The Purpose of Our Lives
• Chapter 3: God’s Call to Abraham Initiates the Covenant
• Chapter 4: My Call to the Rabbinate
• Chapter 5: Abraham’s Journey From Doubt to Faith
• Chapter 6: Our Difficult Journey to Parenthood
• Chapter 7: The Covenant Between the Pieces and the Covenant of Circumcision
• Chapter 8: Our Son’s Inspirational Bris
• Chapter 9: The Testing of Abraham
• Chapter 10: The Test of Leaving My Father’s House
• Chapter 11: Isaac Puts Down Roots in the Land of Canaan
• Chapter 12: How I Came to Love Israel and Its People
• Chapter 13: Jacob Stays the Course
• Chapter 14: Wrestling with My Brother and Depression
• Chapter 15: The Matriarchs and the Covenant
• Chapter 16: My Mother the Matriarch
• Chapter 17: Joseph, the Saving Covenantal Link
• Chapter 18: My Commitment to Jewish Messianism
• Addendum 1: Divine Covenants in the Bible
• Addendum 2: Sh’mini Atzeret—Simchat Torah in Reform Judaism
• Addendum 3: The Documentary Hypothesis
• Bibliography