In the Beginning: A New Interpretation of Genesis

by Karen Armstrong

“Karen Armstrong is a genius.”—A. N. Wilson

As the foundation stone of the Jewish and Christian scriptures, The Book of Genesis unfolds some of the most arresting stories of world literature—the Creation; Adam and Eve; Cain and Abel; the sacrifice of Isaac. Yet the meaning of Genesis remains enigmatic. In this fascinating volume, Karen Armstrong, author of the highly acclaimed bestseller A History of God, brilliantly illuminates the mysteries and profundities of this mystifying work.

“A lyrical chronicle of one woman's wrestling with Genesis that can serve as a guide to others . . . As notable for its scholarship as it is for its honesty and vulnerability.”— Publishers Weekly

“Armstrong can simplify complex ideas, but she is never simplistic.”— The New York Times Book Review

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, Theology, Christianity, Spirituality, History, Philosophy

195 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Karen Armstrong is a British author and commentator of Irish Catholic descent known for her books on comparative religion. A former Roman Catholic religious sister, she went from a conservative to a more liberal and mystical Christian faith. She attended St Anne's College, Oxford, while in the convent and graduated in English. She left the convent in 1969. Her work focuses on commonalities of the major religions, such as the importance of compassion and the Golden Rule.
Armstrong received the US$100,000 TED Prize in February 2008. She used that occasion to call for the creation of a Charter for Compassion, which was unveiled the following year.

Reviews

[Brad · Rating 1 out of 5]

Last winter, deep in the Canadian plains and the COVID tundra, my kids and I decided to read Genesis together (well ... the whole bible, actually ... but we've paused half way through Exodus as we wait for the Fall to return). Each night before bed we'd read a chapter all off by ourselves, and each morning on the way to our school day, we'd take a walk in the park, trudging through the snow, working out our thoughts and feelings concerning what we'd just read, full of debate and discussion.

I thought it would be a benefit to supplement our discussions with some "expert" theologians, and that thought took me to Karen Armstrong's In the Beginning: a New Interpretation of Genesis. I wish I had never had that thought.

Quite simply, my sixteen year old girl-boy twins and their eleven year old sister had far better insights into and interpretations of Genesis than Armstrong, a so-called expert, and the discussions we had on cold Manitoba mornings were far more enlightening than anything that appears in In the Beginning .... My three baby-theologians challenged the text, deconstructed chapters and put them back together, debated one another over issues that concerned them, questioned their own biases and how those biases conflicted with the original audience of the text, engaged in both literary criticism and critique of the book, dug into some historiography, and flexed their critical thinking skills with a passion. And they let Genesis itself be their guide. They didn't add apocrypha to fit their interpretations -- a favourite tactic of Karen Armstrong -- and they made no excuses for the "authors" of Genesis, made no presumptions of knowing what those "authors" intended, spent no time apologizing for and rationalizing Genesis' contradictions -- again, unlike Armstrong.

My children were the scholars; Karen Armstrong was, at best, a fabulist.

I will admit, however, that In the Beginning ... is a fascinating look at how the devout think, and for that reason alone I don't feel like this book was a waste of time. I didn't enjoy Armstrong's work and wish I hadn't bothered reading it, but I still managed to take something of value from the experience.

[Lee Harmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a new book, but it’s one I enjoyed and want to share. It’s short, especially so when half the book is a reprint of the text of Genesis, which, surely, no one reads.

This is the story of the Bible’s first book, raw and unchurched. Karen introduces us one by one to the characters and their stories, making no effort to turn them into saints, for they are nothing like the impossibly and depressingly flawless characters we met in Sunday School. Throughout, the authors of Genesis remind us that we can expect no clear-cut answers. We wrestle with the text, measuring its inconsistent doctrines and contradictory lessons, as we struggle to grasp the character of God. How can God be omnipotent, but powerless to control his creation? How can God be benevolent but a killer; wise but arbitrary; just but partial and unfair; omniscient but ignorant of human yearning?

Let me tell one story to set the tone of the book.

Jacob and Esau were twin brothers destined to conflict from the moment they emerged from the womb; Esau, first, to claim the coveted birthright, but not for Jacob’s lack of trying, who followed with his hand grasping his brother’s heel. As adults, the day came when the two would meet, and Jacob feared the meeting, for he had stolen his brother’s birthright through deception.

Jacob didn’t sleep the night before. Instead, says the Bible, he wrestled all night with a stranger, and became aware only at the end of the match that he had been fighting with God. Jacob brushed with the divine, and no two people experience God the same way. Was it real, or was it a dream? Psychologists speak of the “dream work” that we all accomplish at night at some profound level of our being, which enables us to look at issues that our conscious, daytime self finds impossible to face. Perhaps in some deep reach of his memory, Jacob recalled his wrestling match with Esau in the womb, as he internally prepared for his meeting with his brother in the morning.

Transformed and enlightened, Jacob set off at daybreak to meet his brother face to face.

[Ted Shaffner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Armstrong is her usual self here - scholarly but personal, engaging and convincing. The more I research and teach Genesis, the more I believe a rigorous study of this book, in the way Armstrong advocates, could prevent most of the abuses of religion in the world. If we can only understand that religion and God are far more complex than our personal agendas, and that God is at least as complicated as life is, the more compassion we would have. Unfortunately, far too few people are willing to engage so deeply with something they think they already understand.

[BJ Richardson · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a general rule, I love Karen Armstrong's history but I am not a fan of her interpretation of it or her theology. She is usually incredibly well researched and she has a way of pulling out little historical tidbits or side notes that I never would have otherwise learned. I am a huge fan of her book on the Axial age and her History and Battle for God. I am not a fan of the incredibly blatant way she inserts her liberal bias into everything she writes.

Unfortunately, there is almost no history in this short book and instead I am pummelled time and again with only her undefended theology and left leaning propaganda. That second star is a generous nod to a great author, but this book... horrible.

Do yourself a favor and skip it.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Armstrong retells Genesis as a human story much more than a supernatural one, giving psychological interpretations of characters’ actions and examining the contradictory nature of the God presented. She speaks of Eden as a place of unity, as opposed to the separation that later reigns – of people from God and from each other, as well as divided within themselves. Jacob is her primary example of the divided self, trying to take on the enviable qualities of his twin and not developing his own. Main themes are the unfair distribution of love and money, fertility, guilt and scapegoating, and repression versus dealing with pain and rejections from the past. Readers who’ve been steeped in an evangelical response to the Bible won’t be accustomed to the way Armstrong questions characters’ motivations and brings out the faults of those we’ve always been wont to think of as the ‘good guys.’ Getting this more objective perspective is essential, though.

A favorite passage: “in almost all cultures, people originally turned to religion because they wanted to live as intensely and efficaciously as possible. They knew that the world was a dangerous place and that their hold on life and health was fragile. The chaos that the gods had mastered at the beginning of time could return and annihilate the created order. Religion helped them to overcome the limitations that flesh is heir to, to experience life fully, and to put themselves in touch with the deeper currents of existence that alone could give meaning and value to the whole.”

[Drick · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this short book, religious author, Karen Armstrong offers her offbeat reflections on the book of Genesis. Armstrong's writings have two consistent themes: (1) God is ineffable; i.e. unknowable and beyond our understanding, and (2) the true sign of religious passion is seen in compassion for the "other. Somehow she works these themes into her reflections. She adds a third theme - that God is inconsistent - to her reflections.

The book is helpful in getting the reader to reflect more deeply on the text, even though I often found myself disagreeing with Armstrong's interpretations and reflections. She reads into the text her own psychologizing, which I don't think would have been the writers' or editors' intentions for Genesis. So her reflections are interesting, but go beyond what can be believed.

Her scholarship was questionable too. Her unquestioned acceptance of the JEPD theory of Genesis (that there are two main authors of Genesis, J and E, whose words were then clumsily merged by a later editor) was annoying. I have never found that theory of biblical criticism to be plausible, even though it has gained wide acceptance in liberal circles. I also don't accept the conservative notion that Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible. There is no question in my mind from a simple reading that the stories of Genesis were collected and put together by a later editor, who wanted to show God's transcendent work in the flawed descendants of Abraham.

One nice touch to the book, is that a complete translation of Genesis is provided at the back of this slim text, so that it is easy to read the text for yourself and then make a determination as to what you think.

Overall, I find Armstrong's writing to be accessible and compelling, if not a bit sloppy in its scholarship. With such a wide readership, I wold hope she would take her call to scholarship more seriously. On the other hand, she makes me want to read a Jewish interpretation of Genesis, to see how the original recipients of this book read it today.

[Beau Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the person who has never picked up this remarkable book, Armstrong shows that Genesis stands in contrast to the things that frustrate us most about religion. It presents an unafraid and open dialog about justice, answer and questions, certainty, and hope.

Indeed a fresh interpretation of one of my favorite ancient texts, Armstrong sees Genesis through the lens of chapter 32 in which Jacob wrestles with God. She says, "...the editors who put together the final text of Genesis...felt able to include the text because it so eloquently described the religious experience of Israel. There would be no final revelation: God would never fully impart his name and nature to his people. The sacred was too great a reality to be contained within a purely human definition or system of thought. Thus, the people of Israel would have only fleeting and frequently ambiguous glimpses of the divine, though they would know they had been blessed."

The raw text of Genesis deserves to be read in the light of Armstrong's propositions. As she says, Genesis appears wrought with contradictions and unsolved problems, which it makes no effort to iron out.

What a bold thing it is to state a truth and not feel you have to defend it with fact or argument. Those who quarrel are those who are least certain. This is the genius of Genesis.

A favorite quote (p. 35):

"One of the most painful lessons that we have to learn in life is that the apportioning of love is neither fair nor rational."

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

In general, I like Karen Armstrong's books because she picks a relatively straightforward position and then defends it. In this (very short) book, she's interpreting Genesis as an artifact of the human condition -- that relationships with God are always subject to the lens of human experience.

Her position is that the authors of Genesis deliberately make God "unknowable" - reminding us that attempting to label the divine with human logic, emotion and definitions of "fairness" are going to trip us up. She also goes so far as to point out that many of the men in Genesis were in fact broken or severely damaged by trying to follow this "unknowable" divine guidance, or inflicted serious damage on their families.

In short, an interesting position, some grains of new insight, but in general, a bit of a stretch.

[Vera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Armstrong always brings facts and a female perspective to subjects often seen only from the male view. This discussion included some things I had read before, but provides the background needed to understand why the book (Genesis) was written the way it was. The insight on the family relationships in the book was obvious after she pointed it out, but I think we don't see some of this because it's in the Bible. She is right- few of the characters had happy family lives, and there are conflicting stories. Informative book.

[Ill D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everyone’s favorite “freelance monothesist” (whatever that means) and liberal theologian Karen Armstrong is best known for her popularizing works on religion. Spanning the gamut from her own native religion toward those of the world at large I’ve generally found her work, especially as it pertains to history, elucidating, interesting and usually good reads (pun!). Yet for all the promise of a “new interpretation” of the the very first book of The Bible there’s really nothing exceptionally new under the sun herein.

Instead of an act of revolutionary revisionism, In the Beginning is nothing more than a sack of easily digestible micro-takes. Averaging 3 pages a pop and never exceeding 5, each micro-chapter is nothing more than a gumball of biblical criticism with a bitter coating concerning the who’s who of Genesis . Rejecting the heroism of the preacher’s pulpit, each and every patriarch is presented in a thoroughly negative light. From Noah’s curse of his progeny, to Abraham’s misdeeds in Egypt and Jacob’s deceptions, even the ever beloved Joseph, of the many colored cape fame, is just as flawed as his siblings that tossed him into slavery - painted as a self-centered narcissist and untrusting paranoids respectively. Unilaterally focused on the bad, God too gets the short end of the staff - slandered as a cruel, fickle, and utterly unfair judge who is neither omnipotent, just, nor consistent in his diffusion of punishments and blessings.

Seemingly riffed off of Dawkin’s bombastic single sentence take on the Big Guy (yet a a decade before hand) this tome is harsh and teeth-gnashingly critical. Yet therein, like the central problem of In the Beginning. Not only falling short of its revolutionary insights the subtitle would suggest, the critique(s), no matter how correct don’t resolve unto anything even close to an, endearing, let alone memorable, synthesis. Unsurprisingly, Genesis is just a flawed as the people who wrote it. Surprise?!

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

From Publishers Weekly
Having written A History of God (1993) and Jerusalem (1996), prolific and bestselling author Armstrong turns her considerable imaginative skill and critical acumen to an interpretation of the first book of the Bible. In a series of short meditations, Armstrong explores each of the major scriptural units in Genesis, from the creation accounts (Genesis 1-3) to the death of Joseph (Genesis 50). In her reflection on and interpretation of Adam and Eve's fall from grace, she notes that the act of plucking the forbidden fruit renders the couple like God, in that they use their "wisdom and the power that comes with it for apparently evil ends as well as for good." Armstrong integrates the sophistication of biblical scholarship with the more raw inquisitiveness of the common reader. The result is a lyrical chronicle of one woman's wrestling with Genesis that can serve as a guide to others grappling with the book. While many of Armstrong's readings may provoke controversy, she provides a model of scriptural interpretation that is as notable for its scholarship as it is for its honesty and vulnerability.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

[Eliran · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enjoyable read that brings a differing viewpoint of a well-known, but misunderstood book of the Bible. Armstrong's thesis is that God is ultimately unknowable and beyond human comprehension, humanity's search for the divine has been equally enlightening and simultaneously frustrating.
Armstrong draws from not only Biblical sources, but also compares it with other prominent Near Eastern mythologies from the time-period.
Possibly the only gripe I have is due to so much material being covered, each instance in Genesis is briefly mentioned, such as moving from the Biblical Fall, to Cain and Able, Noah, Abraham, ect. It would have been nice to see each account elaborated in detail. The book is 195 pages, 108 of them are the "essay" on Genesis, the remaining is the entire book of Genesis, rather fitting, but optional(I stopped reading at that point).
Granted, if one has more of a "fundamentalist" worldview, this book might be frustrating, as it has some rather liberal views of God and presenting him as deliberately imperfect(loosing control of his Creation in the Fall of Eden, the First Murder. It still all ties in nicely and is a thought-provoking piece.

[Robert Seeley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Political controversies over creationism and evolution have, unfortunately for all of us, made Genesis appear far more one-dimensional than it is. Armstrong's short book, which grew out of her participation in a PBS discussion series, reminds us that Genesis is not a scientific textbook or a definitive history but an attempt to understand the human condition and the nature of God. As usual, Armstrong's writing is clear, and it repays careful study.

[Tink · Rating 2 out of 5]

An increasingly annoying presentation of psychological profiles of the inhabitants of the first book of the Bible, including but not limited to, Yahweh. Though well-written, it was also increasingly painful to read.

[CivilWar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I don't actually disagree with that much of what Karen Armstrong says here - though I still disagree with a fair bit - what actually strikes me about this book is how simple, repetitive, modern-minded and ultimately boring it is. The same points are repeated ad nauseam: we can't fully know the divine, we can barely know each other, Love, like God, is unfair, the patriarchs are not perfect human beings nor were the Genesis writers trying to portray them as such, etc. These simple points are, without new depth added to them, over and over repeated whenever the theme shows its head again in Genesis, as this covers the story in linear fashion from beginning to end, like some goddamn Youtube video essay going over a show or a movie.

Not that it is entirely lacking in insight: I do like, per example, how Armstrong points out hat Noah is a mere yes-man to God and that unlike Utnapishtim of the Gilgamesh flood (mini-)epic, he barely seems to react to the pains of the flood victims. But these are few and far between.

Really, if you have read nothing on Genesis, or if its place in culture still is embedded too deep within your consciousness to look at it objectively, as a piece of fiction, of ancient writing, which is utterly unique among all ancient heroic epics, Near Eastern or Western, per example in how they depict characters slowly becoming mediocre with old age as we all do, then you will likely get something out of this, maybe even have your eyes somewhat opened. But in my case, and my recommendation for most people: just read Robert Altar's translation of Genesis along with his commentary please, which makes all of these points and more with greater depth and eloquence.

As for what I do disagree with Karen Armstrong, I shall give an example here:

Genesis as a whole does not accept this theological view of a wholly omnipotent and irresistible God, in whose grand design human beings are mere pawns. From a very early stage, the biblical authors suggested, God lost control of his creation. He had given humanity free will, and that meant that they shared his sovereign freedom. This alone should make us question Joseph’s theology and his interpretation of events.

In fact they do, which a reading of both the rest of the OT and the Dead Sea Scrolls makes abundantly clear: for this is true of Zeus' children in Greek myth too. God is omnipotent in the sense that he is perfectly attuned with cause-and-effect and thus, quite literally, everything is a pawn in his overarching "vision" like the forethought of "Zeus Euboleus", "Zeus of Good Counsel". This is extremely clear in ancient Judaic mythology which made Satan himself no more than a pawn in this vision, which needed YHWH to remain pristine, the one who passes judgement, while the devil merely tempts people so God can judge them, as the loving, lowly servant of God.

You might say that this is outside of Genesis and so Doesn't Count, but I think it extremely does count because most of the events of Genesis, as of all of Classical mythographic history, are parallel on these lines. YHWH allows the angels to fall to get humans out of the turbidity, and the Flood exterminates the Nephilim that are the brood of the fallen angels; likewise, the demigods of Greek myth - identical with the Nephilim in all ways, Nephilim being no more than demigod heroes such as Gilgamesh - are exterminated by Zeus' plan/will "to unburden Mother Earth", first in the Theban war and then in the Trojan War (the Flood, of course, already had happened and was a Near Eastern import in any case). Like those chosen by YHWH, the demigods too exist to fulfill Zeus' will, which mostly consists in changing society towards the then-modern patriarchal, civilized state, out of an anarchic, female-coded chaotic state. Hence Agamemnon and Klytemnetra die, Orestes is hounded for years, etc, so that patriarchal law may be born out of a string of cause-and-effect that Zeus alone is privy too.

But of such comparisons and insights you will not hear of here: we have a lot of individualizing youtube video essaying-style subjectivisms and such, and comparison with other things appear only sporadically, as the above mentioned pleasant insight about Noah vs Utnapishtim in their compassion for fellow humanity.

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

In pursuing a study of the book of Genesis in the Old Testament, I was using one study resource that was fairly traditional in it's interpretation. When I added this book by Biblical Scholar Karen Armstrong, I found an interpretation that was at times quite different and refreshing. This book was highly readable for a lay person, not so academic as to be difficult to plow through as some others I have tried. I am interested now in reading other books by this author.

[Belinda Vlasbaard · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 sterren- Nederlandse hardcover

[Bertha Rachinski · Rating 2 out of 5]

What? Armstrong's intrepretation of Genesis is pure conjecture! Lots of subjective commmentary with no support.

[Selkie Narwhal · Rating 1 out of 5]

Armstrong writes an anti-Christian story, equating all religions as mythical stories to help us understand the world we live in - truths about the human predicament (Pg 7). She promotes common secularist "scientific hypotheses" and contributes no real work of her own. All she claims has been told before many times by many others. Armstrong describes the Bible and the Scriptures of all religions (she mentions pagans, Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims) as myth or fiction (Pg 20), which are meant to be read like a poem (Pg 6), which point humans to the eternal and toward achieving "enlightenment" or to the "painful, difficult process" of salvation (4). She declared the editors put the Bible together in the 5th century BC and did not give historically accurate information but made many mistakes (7). Repeatedly, she declared the Bible has no clear theology, no moral consensus, and a contradictory God (8). She describes Genesis as written by multiple authors (using the J and P or Priestly theory) and sets these authors against one another (9-20). She compares the Bible to the pagan myths and says they all tell a story about a golden age at the dawn of time when the gods lived close to humans (22) but started to retreat from the world (23), and have left the world alone by the end of Genesis (119). The fall of man is repainted to blame God - claiming humans were programmed to be like God, so they were just following their nature (25-27). God is summarized as contradictory: omnipotent but powerless to control humans; omniscient but ignorant; creator but destroyer; benevolent but killer; wise but arbitrary and partial and unfair (117).

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Armstrong's interpretation of Genesis - she does a great job of walking you through Genesis, introducing the characters and stories of the book and providing a coherent interpretation of Genesis that builds through the book. She also - helpfully - included the book of Genesis in the back so that you could refer to it as you read her summaries and interpretations (for those of us that have not memorized it and tend to read in bed this was a lifesaver). A short work (the 120 pages of interpretation are about twice the number of pages as Genesis itself - although since the interpretation has a larger font and not two-columned, the number of words are probably close) it is easy to get through but still very informative and reminds of those minor characters that maybe haven't stuck in your head all these years. My favorite part of the book was the interpretation of the Jacob-Rachel-Leah relationship and how poisoned it was.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would recommend this book to anyone with a curiosity about how to approach scriptural literature and about understanding its relationship to humankind today. Armstrong does an excellent job of tracing where the parts of Genesis came from, in a scholarly way, and she also talks about the difficult of reading the Bible and how that reflects the difficulty of humans being able to connect with God. She describes in real terms the drama of human interactions and relationships in Genesis, drama which is real, even today, such as jealousy of family members, the desire to be loved by one's partner and spouse, the effect of parental strife on the childrens' relationships, vanity and arrogance among family members, lack of regard among others, etc. An excellent read!

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading the Bible is one of the fundamentals of the Christian faith. Personally, I must've read the book of Genesis at least a dozen times over the years. Reading Karen Armstrong's erudite interpretation of Genesis opened my eyes to aspects that I've never even considered before. Maybe my Bible-reading has been done too much by rote, but now I see that there is so much more that can be gleaned from the 1st book.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Armstrong, one of our best writers on religion, wrote this book after becoming involved in the Bill Moyers PBS series about Genesis. She takes an interesting look at the patriarchs as leaders of essentially dysfunctional families and asks what we can learn from them (the answer is, a lot). It is a book that will certainly make you think about Genesis in ways you never have before.

[Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book three times back to back. It is certainly an interesting interpretation and gives one a great deal to ponder upon. At one point I thought we were heading for the Machion heresy but the author neatly steered her way past that and gives a different insight into the workings of God and his relationship with his creation. Well worth the read.

[Cedric Rudolph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Armstrong uses current Western views of psychology and ethics to explicate a centuries-old text. From the terse chapters of Genesis, she derives stunning and often-surprising characterizations of the classic archetypes--Noah, Abraham, Lot, Jacob. Some of your favorite Biblical characters may not be your favorites anymore, though, as Armstrong lets everybody have it right between the eyes.

[Stoickitten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing essays that made me look at the stories that have been repeated to me since I was a toddleron Sunday school with a fresh eye. Armstrong is not afraid to ask tough questions, or admit that there aren't always definitive answers for those questions. I wish she did one of these little books for every book of the Bible.

[Johanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book brought to me some new reflections on the book of Genesis and how it can be interpreted.
In her exploration into the text the 'fictional' characteristics come into center view, and I can see other reflections in the light of it being a fictional work, with the use of events and characters to lighten issues with the self. To me, this makes the Bible much more in the present.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book based on my most recent criteria --- a short book. I have not been able to get through her other books, but this one turned out to be an excellent interpretation of the Book of Genesis. By reading this, I have become more familiar with the stories (and their nuances), with a touch of theological interpretation. An easy read, and a good one.

[Jack Getz · Rating 4 out of 5]

An important book to read for subject context and a progressive's insight into the nature of the writing of Genesis. Her takes are fresh and challenging to settled dogma on the Book of Genesis. I took my time reading it and found the short chapters helpful in maintaining focus over several months of slipping in and out of the book. Open minds are helpful when reading KA.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very good. She relates the story of Genesis with all the dysfunctional families. Families who manage all the same to send their religion on to us. It is helpful that she includes the Book of Genesis at the end.