Read: Chapter 9 : Kass, Leon. The Beginning of Wisdom : Reading Genesis. New Yor

Read: Chapter 9 : Kass, Leon. The Beginning of Wisdom : Reading Genesis. New York: Free Press, 2003.
Read: Genesis 11-26
What does the term patriarchy mean in the biblical context? What does the Bible mean by “father,” “fatherhood,” “fathering” and the rule of the fathers? Who are the Israelite matriarchs? Who is Abram? How would you characterize him? What trials must he go through in his encounters with God? (see chart on p. 263). Analyze the trials, instances when God “commands, other instances when God “promises” and instances where God intervenes. What are the main concerns of these various trials? Are these episodes political, why or why not? After studying Genesis the way Kass presents it, do you think the Bible is a work of philosophy – why or why not? Draw on the Kass reading and the Book of Genesis. You might consider rereading the Levenson essay from Lesson #3.