Did the first readers of Genesis see creation as a temple?
In this episode of Exploring the Language of Scripture, Professor of Old Testament Jens Bruun Kofoed joins me to explore how ancient Israelites understood the creation account in Genesis 1–11 — and why seeing Eden as a sanctuary and humanity as God’s image-bearers transforms the way we read Scripture.

We dive into temple imagery, ancient Near Eastern context, Hebrew language insights, and how the earliest audience would have heard the creation story. We explore how creation, tabernacle, and new creation form a unified biblical theme. We discuss the meaning of shalom, the literary patterns linking Genesis to the Tabernacle and Temple, and the biblical claim that humanity is called to represent God’s character in His sacred space. We also address questions about genre, myth, history, and what makes the God of the Bible utterly unique among ancient gods.

Whether you are curious about biblical languages, temple theology, Eden imagery, or early Jewish interpretation, this conversation offers a rich, historically grounded perspective on Genesis that is often missed by modern readers — and deeply relevant for the Christian life today.

Don't miss the next episode:

In the next episode, I speak with Christian Højgaard about reading Leviticus as literature — and how its structure, themes, and theological design reveal far more than a book of laws.

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Chapter:

00:00 — Coming Up…
01:01 — Meeting Jens Bruun Kofoed — Hebrew Bible Scholar, Creation Account Specialist, and Preacher
03:56 — The Story Behind a Hebrew Scholar
06:02 — How the Original Languages Unlock Scripture
08:59 — Shalom Is Deeper Than You Think It Is
14:59 — Creation & Tabernacle: The Overlooked Literary Thread
17:18 — Creation → New Creation: The Bible’s Grand Pattern
20:01 — Why Study Genesis’ Creation Narrative So Deeply?
22:53 — Myth or History? The Question Everyone Gets Wrong
31:08 — Why Understanding Genre Is So Important
35:06 — How the First Readers Heard Genesis
43:55 — The Garden as Sanctuary
49:31 — Creation as Cosmic Sanctuary
53:06 — How God’s Presence Shapes the Whole Bible
01:00:32 — Are Biblical & Ancient Near Eastern Creation Stories the Same?
01:07:49 — The God Who Is Nothing Like the Ancient Gods
01:10:42 — What First Creation Means for Your Life Today

Music Credits:
Music from #Uppbeat
🔗

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Podcast Keywords:
biblical languages, New Testament, Old Testament, Christ, bible study, Relationship with God, learn biblical languages, Biblical Theology, Christianity, Covenants, New covenant, old covenant, language acquisition, Biblical Greek, Biblical Hebrew.