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Podcast Episode

Seizing vs. Receiving Power

It’s not explicitly stated, but the theme of the firstborn first appears in the opening narratives of the Hebrew Bible. In Genesis 1 and 2, Yahweh elevates humans, the latecomers of creation, to rule the land. In Genesis 3, a snake, who is some kind of spiritual being, tricks the humans despite their authority as God’s image bearers. This story is echoed in other accounts of sibling rivalry that continue throughout the Hebrew Bible. Join Tim and Jon as they discuss the land rulers and sky rulers and the theme of the firstborn in Genesis 1-3.

Episode 2
1hr 8m
Jan 9, 2023
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Show Notes
Episodes

QUOTE

The human rulers come last in the sequence of the six days. Even the animals are before them … The last-comer is the one who’s given the authority to rule over the land … Isn’t it interesting that as you read through the Hebrew Bible, it’s consistently the latecomer that God elevates to places of rule and authority?

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • The first time the firstborn theme occurs in the Bible is in Genesis 1-3. It’s not mentioned explicitly, but it is part of the dynamic at play between the human rulers of the land and the spiritual rulers of the sky.
  • While the Bible doesn’t explicitly tell us the motives of the snake in Genesis 3, it’s safe to assume that envy was involved. Possibly, the firstborn sky rulers envied the exalted position of lowly, second-born humans. This attitude would be consistent with the theme of the firstborn that will continue to unfold throughout the Hebrew Bible.
  • Regardless of the snake’s motives, what we can clearly observe from this first appearance of the firstborn theme is that from the very beginning of the cosmos, Yahweh has defined power not as something to be seized but as something to be received as a gift from him.

The First Occurrence of the Firstborn Theme

In part one (00:00-14:38), Tim and Jon review the theme of the firstborn and explore the first place we see the firstborn theme occur in the Bible.

Humans constantly seek power and prestige, doing whatever it takes to dominate others, and we see this play out in the story of the Bible. Firstborn sons were the natural inheritors of wealth and power in the ancient world, and people went to great lengths to produce a firstborn son and secure his privilege. Yahweh consistently opposes this practice and elevates younger siblings and less-than-ideal leaders. This theme culminates with Jesus, who represents both the humble outsider who is elevated to a position of authority and the firstborn of creation.

The first time the firstborn theme occurs in the Bible is in Genesis 1-3. It’s not mentioned explicitly, but it is part of the dynamic at play between the human rulers of the land and the spiritual rulers of the sky.

Exalted Second-Borns

In part two (14:38-36:14), Tim and Jon turn back to Genesis 1, the seven-day creation narrative. On the first three days, Yahweh brings order to the cosmos, depicted as chaotic and uninhabited. On the fourth through sixth days, Yahweh fills the cosmos with inhabitants.

On day four, Yahweh appoints ma’or (lamps or lights) to do what God’s light did on day one—bring order to chaos by shining light into the darkness. In the biblical imagination, stars and planets were visible images of spiritual beings. God gave a realm of authority to these lights to govern time (Gen. 1:16).

On day six, Yahweh creates humans and gives them authority to rule over the land, seas, and skies (Gen. 1:26). Yahweh exalts humans to rule, to the point of making humans images of Yahweh himself. In this way, the role of humanity in the creation story becomes the first example of exalted second-borns in the Bible.

In his way of relating to both spiritual beings and humans, Yahweh reveals himself to be an all-powerful being who wants to share his power and authority with others.

You Will Be Like Elohim

In part three (36:14-55:26), Tim and Jon discuss the relationship between land rulers and sky rulers.

The land rulers (humans) govern a large realm despite being created last, even after animals. In a figurative sense, humans are the second-borns of creation. Throughout the Bible, it’s consistently the latecomer whom God chooses to rule. This stands in contrast to how other ancient cultures viewed cosmology: Humans were at the bottom of the pyramid with no authority in comparison to spiritual beings.

Genesis 2 tells the story slightly differently than Genesis 1. In Genesis 2, Yahweh creates humans in Eden, outside the garden, but then he places them in the garden and instructs them to take care of it. The image parallels the command in Genesis 1 to rule and take care of the earth. While the responsibility of bearing God’s image is never explicitly mentioned, we see it in the instructions to take care of the garden God planted, therefore acting as his representatives.

The creation order in Genesis 2 is reversed from Genesis 1—God creates one human, then animals, and then splits the one human into two. However, the conclusion of both stories is the same: Yahweh creates two humans, makes them king and queen of his creation, and instructs them to rule as his representatives.

Genesis 3 introduces the story’s antagonist, a talking serpent (a phenomenon that would have been as strange for ancient readers as it is for us). The snake first questions God’s generosity and then his trustworthiness. He suggests to Adam and Eve that eating the fruit God prohibited would make them like elohim.

Genesis 3:4-5

The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like elohim, knowing good and evil.”

This snake represents both spiritual beings and the animal kingdom in its attempt to thwart humans. Most modern Bibles translate the word elohim as “god,” but it is the plural word “gods,” used to refer both to spiritual beings and to the singular Yahweh. This ambiguity is likely intentional. If we read this as “you will be like Yahweh,” the sad irony is that humans are already like Yahweh—they are his very image. If we read it as “you will be like the spiritual beings,” we see the selfishness and greed of humans who want yet another realm to exercise power over when they’ve already been given an entire world to rule.

While the Bible doesn’t explicitly tell us the motives of the snake in Genesis 3, it’s safe to assume that envy was involved. Possibly, the firstborn sky rulers envied the exalted position of lowly, second-born humans. This attitude would be consistent with the theme of the firstborn that will continue to unfold throughout the Hebrew Bible. On the flipside, the humans clearly experience envy in this narrative too, which drives them to take what God prohibited to gain more power and privilege.

Receiving Power From Yahweh

In part four (55:26-01:07:43), Tim and Jon explore other Jewish texts that comment on the dynamics at play in Genesis 3.

The author of Second Enoch suggests that the snake tricked the humans in an attempt to become equal with Yahweh. The author of Third Baruch sees the snake as envious of humans but doesn’t say why. In the Life of Adam and Eve, an imaginative re-telling of the garden of Eden story, the author hypothesizes a conversation between Adam and the snake after the humans are exiled from the garden, in which Adam asks the snake why he tricked them. The snake explains that Yahweh had exalted the humans over him, and he was unwilling to tolerate it.

Regardless of the snake’s motives, what we can clearly observe from this first appearance of the firstborn theme is that from the very beginning of the cosmos, Yahweh has defined power not as something to be seized but as something to be received as a gift from him.

Referenced Resources

  • Traditions of the Bible: A Guide to the Bible As It Was at the Start of the Common Era, James L. Kugel
  • Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
  • You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music

  • “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
  • "Maple Leaves" by Stan Forebee & Inf
  • "In Between" by Enluv & Molly McPhaul
  • Stem from a license-free music library

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder. Edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, and Frank Garza. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by Hannah Woo.

Powered and distributed by Simplecast.

Scripture References
Genesis 2
Genesis 3
Genesis 1
Philippians 2:5-11
Genesis 1:14
Isaiah 14
Revelation 1:5
Genesis 1:26
Genesis 5
Genesis 2:4
Exodus 3:14
Ezekiel 28
Romans 8:29
Colossians 1:15
Genesis 1:14-19
Proverbs 3:34
1 Samuel 2:7-8
Genesis 1:24-25

11 Episodes

Episode 11
Firstborn Question and Response
Do the biblical authors consider women the second-born siblings of men? Were Joshua and Caleb rivals? Why is Korah, the disgraced rebel, honored in the Psalms? In this episode, Tim and Jon dive into your questions from the firstborn series. Thank you to our audience for your insightful questions!
57m • Apr 12, 2023
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Episode 10
The Firstborn of Creation
In our final episode of the Firstborn series, we look at the New Testament’s description of Jesus as the firstborn of creation. Join Tim and Jon as they explore some of Paul’s letters, the book of Hebrews, and the Revelation, and discover how Jesus reveals who God is––and what it means to be truly human, too.
1hr 9m • Mar 6, 2023
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Episode 9
How Will Jesus Use His Power?
Under levitical law, touching anyone unclean would make you unclean too. But when Jesus touches people who are unclean, they get healed and become clean instead––it’s like his holiness is contagious. In this episode, Tim and Jon talk about the way Jesus uses his power and authority as the cosmic firstborn.
1hr 14m • Feb 27, 2023
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Episode 8
God's Firstborn Son
The authors of the gospel accounts in the Bible—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—regularly refer to Jesus as the Son of God, a title that’s connected to the theme of the firstborn. In this episode, Tim and Jon explore what it means that Jesus is God’s Son through the stories of his baptism and testing in the wilderness. Listen in to find out how Jesus uses his power in a way we’ve never seen another human do before.
55m • Feb 20, 2023
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Episode 7
David, the Latecomer King
In the scroll of Samuel, Israel demands a king in place of the judges that have been ruling over them. It sounds like a simple enough request, but Yahweh calls it idolatrous. Why? In this episode, Tim and Jon discuss the motives behind Israel’s request and the role of Israel’s first kings, Saul and David, in the unfolding theme of the firstborn.
1hr 3m • Feb 13, 2023
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Episode 6
Hannah’s Poem and Power Reversals
Hannah was an oppressed woman, scorned by her husband’s rival wife because of her barrenness. But the way she prayed and trusted Yahweh through this hardship became a remarkable example of how God works through the lowly to subvert human notions of power and status. In this episode, join Tim and Jon as they trace the theme of the firstborn in the scroll of Samuel.
1hr 4m • Feb 6, 2023
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Episode 5
The Plague of the Firstborn
How does the plague of the firstborn from Exodus fit into the biblical theme of the firstborn? And what does it mean when Yahweh calls Israel his firstborn son? In this episode, Tim and Jon explore the theme of the firstborn in the Exodus scroll.
1hr 12m • Jan 30, 2023
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Episode 4
Power Grabs and Patriarchs
Early in the story of the Bible, God chooses the family of Abraham, his son Isaac, and Isaac’s son Jacob as his chosen representatives to bless other peoples. But these families are full of the same rivalry, envy, and division present in any other family. What is God doing with these less-than-ideal candidates? Join Tim and Jon as they trace the theme of the firstborn in the narratives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
1hr 10m • Jan 23, 2023
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Episode 3
Rivalry Among Brothers
Only a few pages into the story of the Bible, the story starts to get really bleak. Cain kills his brother Abel, Cain’s descendants become famous murderers, and Noah’s youngest son violates his father and mother. And all of it happens because humans decide that power is worth the cost of harming others. In this episode, Tim and Jon discuss the dark side of human nature and the God who favors the powerless—the people who choose to trust him for blessing and exaltation.
1hr 9m • Jan 16, 2023
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Episode 2
Seizing vs. Receiving Power
It’s not explicitly stated, but the theme of the firstborn first appears in the opening narratives of the Hebrew Bible. In Genesis 1 and 2, Yahweh elevates humans, the latecomers of creation, to rule the land. In Genesis 3, a snake, who is some kind of spiritual being, tricks the humans despite their authority as God’s image bearers. This story is echoed in other accounts of sibling rivalry that continue throughout the Hebrew Bible. Join Tim and Jon as they discuss the land rulers and sky rulers and the theme of the firstborn in Genesis 1-3.
1hr 8m • Jan 9, 2023
Untitled
close
Episode 1
God's Response to Human Power Structures
In ancient Near Eastern societies, firstborn sons were prized above all other children and inherited special privileges and authority simply because of their birth order. In this episode, Tim and Jon start a new theme study covering the theme of the firstborn. Spoiler alert: The God of the Bible opposes lots of human ideas about power, and the privilege of the firstborn is no exception. Again and again, we’ll see Yahweh picking younger siblings and people we wouldn’t expect to be his chosen representatives.
1hr 10m • Jan 2, 2023
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