Genesis 1–11 in the Light of Some Aspects of the Transmission of Genesis in Late Second Temple Times

This article outlines some of the evidence for the copying and reading of Genesis in manuscripts found in the caves at and near Qumran. It suggests that some Second Temple Jews did indeed read Genesis as a whole, as in the book of Jubilees, some seem to have concentrated on reading Genesis only from Enoch and Noah onwards (e.g., Genesis Apocryphon; Commentary on Genesis A), and yet others had an interest in the opening chapters of Genesis either by themselves (e.g., 4QGend) or as part of reading Genesis as a whole. There might be a variety of explanations for this, not least of which are the differences between Adamic and Enochic-Noachic approaches to the origin of evil.