Noah

parents. Though Abel was murdered before procreating, both Cain and Seth had children (Gen 4:17-22; 4:26-5:32). Additionally, Adam apparently modeled to his children the need to expand the borders, to subdue the earth, to work the ground, and to have

dominion over the creatures of the earth. The text indicates that both Cain and Abel were

workers. Cain was dedicated to being a “worker of the ground,” and Abel was a “keeper

of the sheep” (Gen 4:2).

these burnt offerings as atoning sacrifices that Noah offered as a mediator for his own sins and for the sins his family (Lev 1:4; 5:10; 9:7).

It would, however, be incorrect to conclude that they have salvific implications for the rest of the world.

As a priest, Noah mediates a covenant

with God that is primarily focused on protecting his family, those who are in the family of God. Yet, common grace is extended to the entire creation, with the underlying hope that the borders of God’s sanctuary would eventually encompass all the nations.

Immediately following Noah’s sacrifice, Noah receives covenantal stipulations from God (Gen 9:1-7) that were very similar to those that Adam received (Gen 1:28;

2:15-17). These same covenant stipulations were also passed along to Abram/Abraham (Gen 12:2-3; 17:2, 6, 8; 22:17-18), Isaac (Gen 26:3-4, 24), and Jacob (Gen 28:3-4, 14;

35:11-12; 48:3, 15-16). In the stipulations, these patriarchs receive a priest-kingly

commission that includes elements of receiving God’s blessing and being commanded to obey God and to attend to the discipline of border management, namely, to “be fruitful and multiply,” to “fill the earth,” to “subdue the earth,” and to have “dominion over” the earth. Importantly, as the Adamic commission is repeated, it is typically delivered in

28 Commenting on the atoning nature of the design of burn offerings in the Law, Mathews writes, “The ‘burnt offering’ was a blood offering given in the Mosaic community as a voluntary offering for sin.” Kenneth A. Mathews, Genesis 1-11:26, NAC, vol. 1A (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1996), 392.

29 God’s promise to Noah is not that the curse of sin delivered in Gen 3:17 (“curse,” ר ַר ָא) would be lifted but rather that he would, in his common grace, never again “dishonor” or “bring contempt”

(“curse,” לַל ָק; Gen 8:21) on the created order through bringing a flood (Gen 9:11). Noah stands as the mediator between God and man as this covenant is instituted. Gen 3:17 uses the word ר ַר ָא to speak of God’s curse against humanity following Adam and Eve’s original sin. The result is the fall of mankind. The term is properly translated to mean “curse.” Though לַל ָק is sometimes translated as “curse” as it is here in Gen 8:21, its meaning carries the notion of bringing dishonor or contempt against something. See BDB, 76, 886.

30 The covenantal language used to describe Noah’s covenant indicates that

God is not initiating a covenant with Noah but rather is upholding for Noah and his descendants a commitment initiated previously. . . . [God] is saying that his commitment to his creation, the care of the creator to preserve, provide for, and rule over all that he has made, including the blessings and ordinances that he initiated through and with Adam and Eve and their family, are now to be with Noah and his descendants. . . . The covenant with Noah was a kind of reinstatement and upholding of a covenant initiated at creation. (Peter J. Gentry and Stephen J. Wellum, Kingdom through Covenant:

A Biblical-Theological Understanding of the Covenants [Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012], 156)

connection with what appears to be the construction of altars throughout the surrounding landscape.

Job

Job stands as another example of a man who served as a priestly figure during this era

and likely lived at some point between Noah and Abraham.

His priestly identity is evidenced in his service as the head of his family when he mediates and offers sacrifices on behalf of his children (Job 1:5). Though he is not certain whether or not his children are guilty of sin, he offers sacrifices

to atone for the sins that they may have committed so as to be sure that their sins are covered. Thus, as he mediates on behalf of his household, Job’s priestly and “godly character is indicated in his concern for the

31 Beale, The Temple and the Church’s Mission, 93-96.

32 Robert Alden believes that Job lived and served as a priest during the patriarchal period. He substantiates this point when he writes, “One of the arguments for the antiquity of the man Job is that he was a priest to his own family. Like Abraham, he was not dependent on another to make sacrifices. Job was a patriarch in the sense that he was the head of his clan. He also was a patriarch in that he offered sacrifices for himself and for others. He knew nothing of the Levites or the laws of Moses. The story took place in very ancient times.” Robert L. Alden, Job, NAC, vol. 11 (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1993), 52.

Numerous other scholars affirm the common notion of Job’s patriarchal placement in history. See David J.

A. Clines, Job 1-20, WBC, vol. 17 (Dallas: Word Books, 1989), lvii; Clines, “Job,” in New Bible

Commentary: 21st Century Edition, ed. D. A. Carson et al., 4th ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994), 460; Elmer B. Smick, Job, in EBC, vol. 4, ed. Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland, rev. ed.

(Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010), 687; Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994), 654; John E.

Hartley, The Book of Job, NICOT (Grand Rapids, W. B. Eerdmans, 1988), 64-67.

While this determination is most reasonable, it must be conceded that dating difficulties exist, both for the timing of Job’s life and for the dating of the book of Job. Determining a date for the writing of the book is fraught with difficulty, with scholars suggesting dates ranging from as early as the patriarchal period to as late as the post-exilic era: “Scholars have suggested dates as early as the eleventh or tenth centuries and as late as the fourth century.” J. J. M. Roberts, “Job and the Israelite Religious Tradition,” in Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 89 (1977): 109; Hartley, The Book of Job, 15-19. While the above evidence suggests strongly that Job lived during the patriarchal period, it is also plausible that Job lived at a later time period, perhaps in a place and among a people whose culture was still similar to that of the patriarchs.

33 Spence-Jones argues that, based on his age, Job likely lived between the time of Noah and Abraham: “Job’s term of life (two hundred to two hundred and fifty years) would seem to place him in the period between Eber and Abraham.” H. D. M. Spence-Jones, ed., Job, Pulpit Commentary, vol. 7 (New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1909), xv.

34 The writer of Job uses the plural form of ה ָלֹע to indicate that multiple burnt offerings were presented to God, likely one animal for each child. See BDB, 750.

spiritual well-being of his grown children.”

Indeed, he is committed to guarding them against the consequences of their sin through his priestly ministry of sacrifice.

This same guardian-priest behavior is exhibited by Job when his friends Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar are told to go to Job so that he could mediate on their behalf by offering sacrifices and interceding for them before God so that the Lord would not deal with them “according to [their] folly” (Job 42:8-9). The result of their efforts was that “the Lord accepted Job’s prayer” (Job 42:9). It is important to note that Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar “offered their own sacrifices, but it was Job who interceded in their behalf.”

Job was regarded as a priest in a way that his friends were not. It was Job who, as the priest, had access to the divine presence and who had the right to present sacrifices and prayers to God, mediating on behalf of his friends.

Furthermore, Job clearly took seriously his priestly responsibility to engage in the cultural mandate to be fruitful and multiply. Prior to the calamities that came his way, Job and his wife had “seven sons and three daughters” (Job 1:2). Though each of these children tragically died (Job 1:18-19), Job continued to pursue this priestly task of procreation, and God blessed Job with more offspring, “seven sons and three daughters”