Essay:Evolution in Genesis

On the morning of November 23, 2009 an article idea occurred to me. It was “Evolution in the Bible.” Since the Bible is thousands of pages, I decided to limit the subject to evidence of evolution given in the first book of the Bible, which is called Genesis. The Bible is the early history of Judaism and Christianity.

I spent the day reading Genesis in the New American Standard Bible. I realized the article would require numerous quotes to explain what proof there is that Genesis describes instances of evolution. The article at best would be original research. There are no secondary sources that I know of. I did not major in writing. I don’t know how I would find the secondary sources needed.

This is a biased interpretation of Genesis, from the goal finding descriptions of evolution in Genesis. I know that Darwin was some sort of Bible scholar, and therefore I think it’s possible he could have learned of natural selection while reading the Bible.

In chapter one of Genesis, the earth changed. It’s matter came closer together in space, and became wind and water, fog, clouds, and land. As plants grew, the stars, sun and moon became visible. Fish and birds originated in the sea and land animals originated in dirt. Man was like what made the animals in that he influenced them. Six changes began on specific days.

Chapter 2-9. Here, man’s decisions affect the next generations of men and of the animals. The first known zoo was founded by Adam’s parents. The zoo clipped the wings of it’s serpent. This dragon could speak perhaps as well as a parrot. Many generations later, Noah built a large ship to save the plants and animals, even the rats, from a large flood caused by the earth’s absorption of the moon’s atmosphere. A race of strong men, the Nephilim, did not survive.

Chapter 10-11. Many generations later, Nimrod founded Babel, a brick city which included a tower. Because its population grew, he founded other cities, including Nineveh. Because they were self-sufficient city states, they began to speak different languages.

Chapter 12-25. Some men were smarter leaders than others, and some women were more beautiful than others. Some armies won, and some armies did not survive at all. One army was lead by Abram. His grandson was Abraham. Abraham’s son, Isaac, found him and warned him of his adoptive father Abimelech’s approaching army. He also selected for his biological relatives in Sodom, warning them also. After Abraham remembered his son, he put him in his will and arranged for him to marry his cousin, a form of natural selection.

Chapter 26-35. Isaac’s younger son Jacob ran away and married two of his cousins and their maids. His first wife had more children than his other wives. Jacob’s uncle said he could own the sheep and goats that were not totally white. So, Jacob wouldn’t let the white sheep mate or the white goats mate. After his uncle’s sons found out about it, he ran away. He brought along his family, livestock and others loyal to him. He founded the tribe of Israel, following Adam’s motto “Work and Mate.”

Chapter 36-50. Jacob’s son Joseph went to jail in Egypt. He became Egypt’s Secretary of Agriculture because of a dream. He saved his father and brothers from a famine by talking King Rameses into allowing the tribe to camp in the land of Goshen, the best grazing land in Egypt.

In conclusion, the book of Genesis may be interpreted as teaching Evolution. It illustrates biological terminology which I don’t remember.