In the Beginning: Listening to Genesis 1 and 2

Do the opening chapters of Genesis constitute real history?

Concerned with an apparent shift among conservative scholars to answer in the negative, Cornelis Van Dam argues that reading Genesis 1 and 2 as history is not only justified but necessary. Van Dam clarifies the different roles that ancient Near Eastern literature and scientific theories should play in our understanding of the Bible as he carefully deals with the exegetical details of the first two chapters of the Bible.

Pastors, students, and church leaders will find In the Beginning an informed guide that will restore their confidence in the complete reliability of the Genesis creation account.

Table of Contents:

IntroductionThe Place of Extra-Biblical Evidence in Interpreting ScriptureThe Historicity of Genesis 1:1–2:3"In the Beginning"The Days of Creation"God Created""The Heavens and the Earth" and CosmologyDays One to SixThe Completed Creation and the Seventh DayThe Historicity of Genesis and the Garden of EdenThe Work of Creation and the Gospel

Appendix: The Creation of Heaven and Angels