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Book of Genesis

創世記[1]

The Book of Genesis (from the Latin Vulgate, in turn borrowed or transliterated from Greek "γένεσις", meaning "Origin"; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית, "Bərēšīṯ", "In [the] beginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible (the Tanakh) and the Old Testament. It can be divided into two parts, the Primeval history (chapters 1–11) and the Ancestral history (chapters 12–50). The primeval history sets out the author's (or authors') concepts of the nature of the deity and of humankind's relationship with its maker: God creates a world which is good and fit for mankind, but when man corrupts it with sin God decides to destroy his creation, saving only the righteous Noah to reestablish the relationship between man and God. The Ancestral History (chapters 12–50) tells of the prehistory of Israel, God's chosen people. At God's command Noah's descendant Abraham journeys from his home into the land of Canaan, given to him by God, where he dwells as a sojourner, as does his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob. Jacob's name is changed to Israel, and through the agency of his son Joseph, the children of Israel descend into Egypt, 70 people in all with their households, and God promises them a future of greatness. Genesis ends with Israel in Egypt, ready for the coming of Moses and the Exodus. The narrative is punctuated by a series of covenants with God, successively narrowing in scope from all mankind (the covenant with Noah) to a special relationship with one people alone (Abraham and his descendants through Isaac and Jacob).

創世記（從拉丁文的武加大譯本(Vulgate)而來，借用或音譯希臘文中「γένεσις」，意為「起源」。希伯來語中的「בְּרֵאשִׁית」[Bərēšīṯ]，指「一切(的)開始」）是希伯來聖經（Tanakh）和舊約聖經中的第一本書。它分成兩個部分：太古史(第1-11章）和族長史(第12-50章）。太古史闡述了作者（或作者們）對於神靈的本質以及人類與其創造者的關係之概念：上帝創造了一個善良和適合人類的世界，但當人類用罪惡腐蝕它時，上帝決定摧毀他的創造，只拯救正直的挪亞，重新建立人與上帝之間的關係。 族長史（第12-50章）講述了上帝所揀選的族群，以色列的史前史。在上帝的命令之下，挪亞的後裔亞伯拉罕離開自己的家，到達上帝賜給他迦南，作為一個旅居者居住在那裡，他的兒子以撒和他的孫子雅各也是如此。雅各的名字改為以色列，並藉由他兒子約瑟的幫助，以色列的孩子們與他們的家眷共70個人下到埃及，上帝保證他們會有一個廣大的未來。創世記以以色列到埃及為結尾，並為即將到來的摩西和出埃及記做準備。敘事是由一系列與上帝的約定所組成，從全人類（與挪亞的約定）的範圍依次縮小至與一人（從亞伯拉罕到他的後裔以撒和雅各）的特殊關係。

In Judaism, the theological importance of Genesis centers on the covenants linking God to his chosen people and the people to the Promised Land. Christianity has interpreted Genesis as the prefiguration of certain cardinal Christian beliefs, primarily the need for salvation (the hope or assurance of all Christians) and the redemptive act of Christ on the Cross as the fulfillment of covenant promises as the Son of God.

創世記的神學重要性在猶太教中集中於上帝與神選之人間的約定以及神選之人到應許之地的約定。基督教則將創世記解釋為某些基督教基本信仰的諭示，主要為對救贖的需求（所有基督徒的希望或保證）與耶穌基督在十字架上的救贖，這是祂作為上帝之子所立約許諾的。

Tradition credits Moses as the author of Genesis, as well as the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and most of Deuteronomy, but modern scholars increasingly see them as a product of the 6th and 5th centuries BC.

傳統上認為摩西是創世記以及出埃及記、利未記、民數記和大部分申命記的作者，但現代學者越來越將它們視為西元前6世紀和5世紀的產物。

Structure

結構

Genesis appears to be structured around the recurring phrase elleh toledot, meaning "these are the generations," with the first use of the phrase referring to the "generations of heaven and earth" and the remainder marking individuals—Noah, the "sons of Noah", Shem, etc., down to Jacob. It is not clear, however, what this meant to the original authors, and most modern commentators divide it into two parts based on subject matter, a "primeval history" (chapters 1–11) and a "patriarchal history" (chapters 12–50). While the first is far shorter than the second, it sets out the basic themes and provides an interpretive key for understanding the entire book. The "primeval history" has a symmetrical structure hinging on chapters 6–9, the flood story, with the events before the flood mirrored by the events after; the "ancestral history" is structured around the three patriarchs Abraham, Jacob and Joseph. (The stories of Isaac do not make up a coherent cycle of stories and function as a bridge between the cycles of Abraham and Jacob).

創世記似乎圍繞著一個反復出現的詞語elleh toledot，意思是「這些是世代」，第一次使用這個詞語是指「天地的世代」，其餘的都指稱個人，從挪亞、「挪亞的兒子」、閃等等，一直到雅各。然而，目前尚不清楚這個詞語對原作者們代表什麼，大多數現代評論家依據主題將其分為兩個部分:「太古史」（第1-11章）和「族長史」（第12 - 50章）。雖然第一個比第二個要短得多，但卻定出了基本的主題，並為理解整本書提供了關鍵詮釋。 「太古史」在第6章到第9章的大洪水故事有一個對稱的結構，即大洪水之前的事對映著大洪水之後的事。「族長史」則圍繞著三位族長:亞伯拉罕、雅各和約瑟。（以撒的故事並沒有構成一個連貫的故事循環，而是作為亞伯拉罕和雅各故事循環之間的橋樑）。

Summary

摘要

-----------------Primeval History太古史-------------------

God creates the world in six days and consecrates the seventh as a day of rest. God creates the first humans Adam and Eve and all the animals in the Garden of Eden but instructs them not to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. A talking serpent portrayed as a deceptive creature or trickster, entices Eve into eating it anyway, and she entices Adam, whereupon God throws them out and curses them—Adam to getting what he needs only by sweat and work, and Eve to giving birth in pain. This is interpreted by Christians as the fall of humanity. Eve bears two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain kills Abel after God accepts Abel's offering but not Cain's. God then curses Cain. Eve bears another son, Seth, to take Abel's place.

上帝用六天的時間創造世界，並將第七天奉為休息日。上帝在伊甸園中創造了第一代的人類亞當和夏娃以及所有動物，但卻吩咐他們不要吃知善惡樹上的果實。一條會說話的蛇，牠被敘述成一個知曉欺騙的生物或騙子，誘使夏娃無論如何都要吃下樹上的果實，然後她又誘使亞當吃下果實，最後使上帝將他們趕走並詛咒他們:亞當只能通過辛勞的工作才能得到他所需要的東西，而夏娃則要承受生產的痛苦。這被基督徒解釋為人性的墮落。夏娃有兩個兒子，該隱與亞伯。在上帝接受了亞伯的供品而不是該隱的之後，該隱殺了亞伯。然後上帝就詛咒該隱。之後夏娃又生了另一個兒子塞特，以取代亞伯的位置。

After many generations of Adam have passed from the lines of Cain and Seth, the world becomes corrupted by human sin and Nephilim, and God determines to wipe out humanity. First, he instructs the righteous Noah and his family to build an ark and put examples of all the animals on it, seven pairs of every clean animal and one pair of every unclean. Then God sends a great flood to wipe out the rest of the world. When the waters recede, God promises that he will not destroy the world a second time with water with the rainbow as a symbol of his promise. God sees mankind cooperating to build a great tower city, the Tower of Babel, and divides humanity with many languages and sets them apart with confusion.

在亞當之後，由該隱和塞特傳下來幾代人類之後，世界被人類的罪和拿非利人所腐蝕，因此上帝決定消滅人類。首先，他指示正直的諾亞和他的家人建造了一艘方舟並將所有種類的動物放入方舟，每種潔淨的動物放七對和每種不潔的動物放一對。然後上帝降下大洪水淹沒世界上其他地方。當水退去時，上帝以彩虹作為他承諾的象徵，保證他不會再次用水摧毀世界。當上帝看到人類合作建立了一座高塔城巴別塔之後，他用多種語言劃分人類，讓他們在困惑中分散開來。

------------Ancestral History族長史-------------------

God instructs Abram to travel from his home in Mesopotamia to the land of Canaan. There, God makes a covenant with Abram, promising that his descendants shall be as numerous as the stars, but that people will suffer oppression in a foreign land for four hundred years, after which they will inherit the land "from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates". Abram's name is changed to Abraham and that of his wife Sarai to Sarah, and circumcision of all males is instituted as the sign of the covenant. Because Sarah is old, she tells Abraham to take her Egyptian handmaiden, Hagar, as a second wife. Through Hagar, Abraham fathers Ishmael.

上帝指示亞伯蘭離開他在美索不達米亞的家到迦南去。在那裡，上帝與亞伯蘭立約，承諾他的子孫將像星星一樣多，但他們將在異地遭受四百年的壓迫，之後他們將繼承「從埃及河到幼發拉底河」的土地。亞伯蘭的名字改為亞伯拉罕、他的妻子莎萊改為莎拉，而所有男性都需經過割禮，這是立約的標誌。因為莎拉年紀大了，她告訴亞伯拉罕讓她的埃及女奴夏甲成為他的第二任妻子。夏甲為亞伯拉罕生下以實瑪利。

God resolves to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for the sins of their people. Abraham protests and gets God to agree not to destroy the cities if 10 righteous men can be found. Angels save Abraham's nephew Lotand his family, but his wife looks back on the destruction against their command and is turned into a pillar of salt. Lot's daughters, concerned that they are fugitives who will never find husbands, get him drunk to become pregnant by him, and give birth to the ancestors of the Moabites and Ammonites.

由於人民的罪惡，上帝決定摧毀所多瑪和蛾摩拉的城市。亞伯拉罕抗議並讓上帝同意若能找到10個無辜(正直)的人，就不要摧毀城市。天使拯救了亞伯拉罕的侄子羅得和他的家人，但他的妻子卻不顧天使命令回頭看了被摧毀的城，所以被變成了鹽柱。羅得的女兒們，擔心她們是逃亡者，永遠找不到丈夫，所以就將他灌醉並因和他發生關係而懷孕，生下了摩押人和亞捫人的祖先。

Abraham and Sarah go to the Philistine town of Gerar, pretending to be brother and sister (they are half-siblings). The King of Gerar takes Sarah for his wife, but God warns him to return her, and he obeys. God sends Sarah a son to be named Isaac, through whom the covenant will be established. At Sarah's insistence, Ishmael and his mother Hagar are driven out into the wilderness, but God saves them and promises to make Ishmael a great nation.

亞伯拉罕和莎拉到了非利士人的基拉耳鎮，假裝是兄妹（他們是同父異母的兄妹）。基拉耳王將莎拉帶走，讓她成為他的妻子，但上帝警告他要歸還莎拉，他服從了。上帝送莎拉一個名為以撒的兒子，通過他將使立約成立。在莎拉的堅持下，以實瑪利和他的母親夏甲被趕到曠野，但上帝拯救了他們，並承諾讓以實瑪利建造一個偉大的國家。

God tests Abraham by demanding that he sacrifice Isaac. As Abraham is about to lay the knife upon his son, God restrains him, promising him numberless descendants. On the death of Sarah, Abraham purchases Machpelah (believed to be modern Hebron) for a family tomb and sends his servant to Mesopotamia to find among his relations a wife for Isaac, and Rebekah is chosen. Other children are born to Abraham by another wife, Keturah, among whose descendants are the Midianites, and he dies in a prosperous old age and is buried in his tomb at Hebron.

上帝藉由要求亞伯拉罕祭獻以撒來考驗他。當亞伯拉罕即將舉刀於他兒子的身上時，上帝阻止了他，並向他承諾他將擁有無數的後代。在莎拉死後，亞伯拉罕買下了麥比拉（被認為是現今的希伯崙），將它當作家族的墳墓，並將他的僕人派到美索不達米亞，在他的親族當中找一個女人給以撒當妻子，他選擇了麗百加。亞伯拉罕的其他孩子由另外一位妻子基土拉所生，其後裔為米甸人。享有長壽的他在高齡時去世，並被埋葬在希伯倫的墳墓裡。

Isaac's wife Rebecca gives birth to the twins Esau, father of the Edomites, and Jacob. Through deception, Jacob becomes the heir instead of Esau and gains his father's blessing. He flees to his uncle where he prospers and earns his two wives, Rachel and Leah. Jacob's name is changed to Israel, and by his wives and their handmaidens he has twelve sons, the ancestors of the twelve tribes of the Children of Israel, and a daughter, Dinah.

以撒的妻子麗百加生了雙胞胎以東人的祖先以掃與雅各。通過欺騙，雅各成為繼承人而非以掃，並獲得他父親的祝福。他逃到了他的叔叔那裡，在那裡他發達了並得到兩個妻子蕾潔和麗亞。雅各的名字改為以色列，並且他的妻子和她們的女奴為他生了十二個兒子，他們後來成為以色列十二支族的祖先，以及一個女兒底拿。

Joseph, Jacob's favorite son, is sold into slavery in Egypt by his jealous brothers. But Joseph prospers, after hardship, with God's guidance of interpreting Pharaoh's dream of upcoming famine. He is then reunited with his father and brothers, who fail to recognize him, and plead for food. After much manipulation, he reveals himself and lets them and their households into Egypt, where Pharaoh assigns to them the land of Goshen. Jacob calls his sons to his bedside and reveals their future before he dies. Joseph lives to an old age and exhorts his brethren, if God should lead them out of the country, to take his bones with them.

雅各最喜歡的兒子約瑟，被嫉妒他的哥哥們賣到埃及當奴隸。但約瑟在過了苦難之後，就發達了，他在上帝的引導之下為法老解夢，說即將有飢荒的到來。然後他與他的父親和兄弟們團聚，但他們並沒有認出他，並向他懇求食物。經過多次擺弄後，他揭露了自己的身份並讓他們和他們的家屬進入埃及，在那裡法老分給他們歌珊的土地。雅各召集了他的兒子們到他的床邊來並在他去世前揭示他們的未來。約瑟活了很久，並勸告他的哥哥們，如果上帝要帶領他們離開這個國家，把他的骸骨一同帶走。