Pondering Genesis 28:11-12 (Ladder, Stairs, Ramp)

Looking at Genesis 28:11-12 again, it's funny how new details become salient each time and things become clearer with one more read. The word normally translated "ladder" (sullam) in that account could be rendered "stairway" or ramp. Moreover, the ladder/stairway could have been made from stone steps.

Another important detail is that Jehovah (YHWH) possibly was at the top of the ladder on which angels ascended and descended (Genesis 28:13) or others understand the text to say YHWH was beside Jacob. The Hebrew allows for different renderings, but I still have my reservations about the idea that Jacob beheld a heavenly sanctuary at the top of the ladder. Of course, he was having a dream/vision, which is another thing to keep in mind.

Is Genesis 1:1 in The Construct State Or Is It Absolute?

Scholars differ on the answer to the question posed in this blog entry, but to take the position that it has to be construct, as some Youtubers/TikTokers claim, is just wrong. I will cite some informative websites to demonstrate my point:

See https://zondervanacademic.com/blog/hebrew-and-you-with-lee-m-fields-is-gen-11-a-subordinate-idea-or-a-main-clause for a discussion of the grammatical possibilities

https://winebrenner.edu/2019/04/15/examining-translations-of-genesis-11-in-relation-to-genesis-11-3-part-one/

https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=3126&context=auss

Good dissertation here: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=3126&context=auss

Tip of the iceberg.

The Greater and Lesser Lights? (Genesis 1:16)

Scholars often wonder why Genesis 1:16 refers to the greater and lesser lights without calling them "sun" and "moon." One suggestion has been that the Genesis account wants to emphasize the sun and moon are not gods (deities) but rather creations of YHWH Elohim (Gen 1:1). Maybe Genesis is militating against then-contemporary mythology: so the narrative goes.

Whatever the reason for Moses' choice of words besides divine inspiration, we know that he could have written "sun" and "moon" since the Hebrew word שֶׁ֫מֶשׁ (shemesh) does appear elsewhere in Genesis (Genesis 15:12, 17; 19:23). Hence, the language, "greater" and "lesser" lights seems intentional:

The author’s polemical concerns continue in these verses as indicated, first of all, by his choice of terminology. He uses the unusual expression the greater luminary instead of the normal word for sun—šemeš—of which he undoubtedly was aware. In the same way he opts for the lesser luminary instead of the familiar yārēaḥ, “moon.” The reason for this choice of terms may be due to the fact that these words—which are very similar in other Semitic languages—are the names of divinities.206 Thus this text is a deliberate attempt to reject out of hand any apotheosizing of the luminaries, by ignoring the concrete terms and using a word that speaks of their function.

Hamilton, Victor P. The Book of Genesis, Chapters 1-17 (New International Commentary on the Old Testament) (Kindle Locations 2404-2409). Eerdmans Publishing Co - A. Kindle Edition. 

Robert Alter Discusses the Literary and Syntactical Features of Genesis 2

"Now, after the grand choreography of resonant parallel utterances of the cosmogony, the style changes sharply. Instead of the symmetry of parataxis, hypotaxis is initially prominent: the second account begins with elaborate syntactical subordination in a long complex sentence that uncoils all the way from the second part of [Genesis] verse 4 to the end of verse 7" (Robert Alter, Genesis, comments on Genesis 2:4).

Genesis 2:7 in Alter's work now calls God "YHWH Elohim" rather than Elohim simpliciter.

Barry Bandstra's Translation of Genesis 1:20-22

And deity said, “Let the waters swarm with a swarm of living being, and let fowl fly on the earth, on the face of the barrier of the heavens.” 21And deity created the big serpents and all living creeping being with which the waters swarmed for their kinds, and all fowl of wing for his kinds. And deity saw that good it is. 22And them deity blessed by saying, “Bear fruit. And multiply. And fill the waters in the seas. And the fowl, let it multiply in the earth.”

From the book, Genesis 1-11: A Handbook on the Hebrew Text.

Bandstra opts to render Elohim as "deity" here; he translates nepes hayya in 1:20, "living being."

Darby Bible Translation: "And God said, Let the waters swarm with swarms of living souls, and let fowl fly above the earth in the expanse of the heavens."

Why Does Genesis 1:27 Contain A Definite Noun? (Barry Bandstra)

 From Barry Bandstra, Genesis 1-11: A Handbook on the Hebrew Text, page 95: