:''This article focuses on the views of certain
Christian commentators and
theologians
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the s ...
. For a more general account of the topic of Genesis chapter 1, see
Genesis creation narrative.''
The framework interpretation (also known as the literary framework view, framework theory, or framework hypothesis) is a description of the
structure of the first chapter of the
Book of Genesis
The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning" ...
(more precisely Genesis 1:1–2:4a), the
Genesis creation narrative. Biblical scholars and theologians present the structure as evidence that Gen. 1 presents a symbolic, rather than literal, presentation of creation.
The following table illustrates the proposed
framework:
Two triads and three kingdoms
Genesis 1 divides its six days of Creation into two groups of three ("triads"). The introduction, Genesis 1:1–2, "In the beginning… the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep…", describes the primal universe containing darkness, a watery "deep", and a formless earth, over which hovers the spirit of God. The following three days describe the first triad: the creation of light and its separation from the primal darkness (Gen. 1:3–5); the creation of the "firmament" within the primal waters so that the heavens (space between the firmament and the surface of the seas) and the "waters under the firmament" can appear (Gen. 1:6–8); and the separation of the waters under the firmament into seas and dry land with its plants and trees. The second triad describes the peopling of the three elements of the first: sun, moon, and stars for the day and night (Gen. 1:14–19), fish and birds for the heavens and seas (Gen. 1:20–23), and finally animals and man for the vegetated land (24–31).
Differences exist on how to classify the two triads, but
Meredith G. Kline
Meredith George Kline (December 15, 1922 – April 14, 2007) was an American theologian and Old Testament scholar. He also had degrees in Assyriology and Egyptology.
Academic career
Kline received his AB from Gordon College, Th.B. and Th.M ...
's analysis is suggestive: the first triad (days 1–3) narrate the establishment of the creation kingdoms, and the second triad (days 4–6), the production of the creature kinds. Furthermore, this structure is not without theological significance, for all the created realms and regents of the six days are subordinate vassals of God who takes His royal Sabbath rest as the Creator King on the seventh day. Thus the seventh day marks the climax of the creation week.
Supporters and critics
The framework interpretation is held by many
theistic evolution
Theistic evolution (also known as theistic evolutionism or God-guided evolution) is a theological view that God creates through laws of nature. Its religious teachings are fully compatible with the findings of modern science, including biological ...
ists and some
progressive creationists. Some argue that it had a precedent in the writings of the early
church father
The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical pe ...
St. Augustine. Dr. Arie Noordzij of the University of Utrecht was the first proponent of the Framework Hypothesis in 1924.
Nicolaas Ridderbos (not to be confused with his more well-known brother,
Herman Nicolaas Ridderbos
Herman Nicolaas Ridderbos (13 February 1909 – 8 March 2007) was a Dutch theologian and biblical scholar. He was an important New Testament theologian, having worked extensively on the history of salvation (''Heilsgeschichte'') and biblical theolo ...
) popularized the view in the late 1950s. It has gained acceptance in modern times through the work of such theologians and scholars as
Meredith G. Kline
Meredith George Kline (December 15, 1922 – April 14, 2007) was an American theologian and Old Testament scholar. He also had degrees in Assyriology and Egyptology.
Academic career
Kline received his AB from Gordon College, Th.B. and Th.M ...
,
Henri Blocher,
John H. Walton
John H. Walton (born 1952) is an Old Testament scholar and Professor at Wheaton College. He was a professor at Moody Bible Institute for 20 years. He specializes in the Ancient Near Eastern backgrounds of the Old Testament, especially Genesis ...
and
Bruce Waltke
Bruce K. Waltke (born August 30, 1930) is an American Reformed evangelical professor of Old Testament and Hebrew. He has held professorships in the Old Testament at Dallas Theological Seminary, Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, Wes ...
.
Old Testament and
Pentateuch
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...
scholar
Gordon Wenham supports a schematic interpretation of Genesis 1 in his two volume, scholarly commentary on Genesis.
The framework view has been successful in the modern era because it resolves the traditional conflict between the Genesis creation narrative and science. It presents an alternative to
literalistic interpretations of the Genesis narratives, which are advocated by some conservative Christians and
Creationists
Creationism is the religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of Creation myth, divine creation.#Gunn 2004, Gunn 2004, p. 9, "The ''Concise Oxford Dictionary'' say ...
at a popular level.
Creationists
Creationism is the religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of Creation myth, divine creation.#Gunn 2004, Gunn 2004, p. 9, "The ''Concise Oxford Dictionary'' say ...
who take a literalist approach have laid the charge that Christians who interpret Genesis symbolically or allegorically are assigning science an authority over that of Scripture. Advocates of the framework view respond by noting that Scripture affirms God's
general revelation
In theology, general revelation, or natural revelation, refers to knowledge about God and spiritual matters, discovered through natural means, such as observation of nature (the physical universe), philosophy, and reasoning. Christian theologi ...
in nature (, ), and therefore in our search for the truth about the origins of the universe we must be sensitive to both the "book of words" (Scripture) and the "book of works" (nature). Since God is the author of both "books", we should expect that they do not conflict with each other when properly interpreted.
The framework interpretation is rejected by some biblical scholars, such as
James Barr,
Andrew Steinmann
Andrew E. Steinmann is Distinguished Professor of Theology and Hebrew at Concordia University Chicago. He has authored a dozen books and numerous articles relating to Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, Biblical Hebrew, and Biblical Aramaic. His publicat ...
, Robert McCabe, and Ting Wang, Some
systematic theologians have criticised the framework interpretation, such as
Wayne Grudem
Wayne A. Grudem (born 1948) is a New Testament scholar turned theologian, seminary professor, and author. He co-founded the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood and served as the general editor of the ''ESV Study Bible''.
Life
Grudem was bo ...
and
Millard Erickson
Millard J. Erickson (24 June 1932), born in Isanti County, Minnesota, is an Evangelical Christian theologian, professor of theology, and author.
Early life and education
He earned a B.A. from the University of Minnesota, a B.D. from Northern Bap ...
—deeming it an unsuitable reading of the Genesis text.
See also
*
Allegorical interpretations of Genesis
Allegorical interpretations of Genesis are readings of the biblical Book of Genesis that treat elements of the narrative as symbols or types, rather than viewing them literally as recording historical events. Either way, Judaism and most sects ...
*
Theistic evolution
Theistic evolution (also known as theistic evolutionism or God-guided evolution) is a theological view that God creates through laws of nature. Its religious teachings are fully compatible with the findings of modern science, including biological ...
*
Creation–evolution controversy
Recurring cultural, political, and theological rejection of evolution by religious groups (sometimes termed the creation–evolution controversy, the creation vs. evolution debate or the origins debate) exists regarding the origins of the Eart ...
References
Bibliography
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* Reprinted in an
part 2
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External links
* (advocating the framework view).
* (describing the framework view and its general agreement with
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
teaching).
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Framework Interpretation (Genesis)
Christian creationism
Book of Genesis