A major theme running through the Book of J and Genesis is paternity. In both texts we follow the efforts of
Yahweh, a creator god, as he tries to develop a responsible role to his creation; in a word fatherhood. In the stories of Eden,
Noah, Babel and Sodom & Gomorra we can see a god who is learning how to deal with his creations choices and not always
managing to be an adequate role model. As we follow the stories into the patriarchal period we begin to see a change as this
divine father begins to evolve towards a more mature paternal model. By the time we get to the stories of Jacob and Joseph,
the hero figures in the genealogy, we can see that Yahweh has indeed matured into an effective paternal role model. With the
exodus from Egypt, Yahweh is ready to 'father' a nation at Sinai. If Yahweh is a divine model for the paternal role, what can we
learn from the texts as to the potential problems and solutions for a parent's role?
Yahweh's first fumbling steps at paternity, show a father who looks upon his creation as undifferentiated from himself, basically
slave labor for a zoological preserve. Establishing boundaries with threats of death, he doesn't perceive these seeds of desire he
plants will grow into the flower of rebellion. His attempts at damage control show the real motivation behind the restriction;
"Look, the earthling sees like one of us, knowing good and bad. And now he may blindly reach out his hand, grasp the tree of
life as well, eat, and live forever."(J;10) The creator isn't ready for the overreaching ambition of his creation to naively grow
beyond his control. In other words, the children are growing up too fast, and at the hands of external forces, in this case the
serpent. Yahweh's reaction, is a banishment of the children, and a curse for both the serpent and the woman. In the stories
of Noah, Babel, and Sodom & Gomorra his paternal benevolence is no more mature. He destroys what has afflicted his
sensibilities, by blotting out life with a terrestrial flood, confusing the tongues to inhibit unity, and raining down a volcanic fire
destroying entire civil populations. All of this flailing about does little to shore up his reputation as a fair and just father, or help
him to establish a positive relationship with his children to be, the family of Abram. A father figure obsessed with control whose
attitude towards his children could be stated, 'I brought you into this world and I can take you out.'
Once our family history moves into the patriarchal phase we see a slightly more mature Yahweh promising some amazing things,
and asking some equally amazing things of his adoptive progeny. In the story of Abram we have the divine father telling his
chosen "son" to step out of his earthly inheritance and begin a nomadic trek to a Promised Land where his lineage will be legion
and blessed in the eyes of the world. No veiled threats of discipline this time, instead the mature offer of a choice and a
promised reward. In this healthier family relation instead of rebellion and banishment, we see trust and honor. The difficult
choices for Abram only get worse once his son Isaac shows up, Yahweh now wants a sacrifice of that which he has given,
namely the most prized thing Abraham has, his only son. The trust still holds and at the last instance the sacrifice is provided.
Unfortunately this trust is based on fear and not love, "…for now I know that you fear God since you have not withheld your
son, from me." (G; 22:12)
We can see the greatest maturation once we get to the favoritism and sibling rivalry between Jacob and Esau. This same rivalry
is a central theme in the story of Joseph and his brothers. In both of these stories not only is the favoritism of birth order bigotry
brought into play, but the aspect of forgiveness within the family structure is the primary crux upon which these stories pivot.
One of the lessons that help both of the scenarios to play out in a mature fashion is the distance which time places on our
emotional anger. Yahweh shows particular restraint in the affairs of his would be family, in essence a mirror of that emotional
distance, he allows the active agents within the generation to claim the blessing instead of simply rewarding it to the first born.
Now that our parental authority has matured to the point where he can let his creations work out their differences and only aid
when reconciliation is necessary, he can move into the real work of 'fathering' a nation and fulfilling that promise. In the words
of Joseph to his brothers we see this forgiveness as well as removal of the 'fear', "Even though you intended to do harm to me,
God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people. So have no fear; I will provide for you and your little ones."
(G; 50:21-22) If we look at the story from a familial standpoint, a question arises. Where is the feminine; is this the story of a
single father or are we missing something here? J's Yahweh doesn't scapegoat the feminine beyond the Garden, whereas the
tone in Genesis is somewhat more severe, where it's the woman's barrenness, which requires Yahweh's intervention to
carry on the primary male line.
The lessons we see Yahweh struggling with in the Book of J and Genesis are directly in relation to his fathering
role of the patriarchs and their sons. A healthy and mature relationship requires a father to encourage the growth of his progeny
while not being attached to the desire to "create in his image", to be able to establish boundaries which respect the necessity of
freedom to choose, to make trust and honor an integral part of the paternal, or any other familial relationship, instead of fear, to
have respect for the talents and accomplishments, and not the birth rank (or gender), and most importantly to respect the nature
of growth and change, in order to respect and forgive when the path to maturity doesn't match up with our own ideas of divine
perfection.