There are two kinds of paragraph divisions in the Hebrew text given by the inspiration of the Spirit. A p’tuchah marker {p} is a strong division and indicates completion of a topic or theme. A stumah marker {s} is a weak division and indicates a new facet of the same topic or theme. The Hebrew Bible in English includes the paragraph divisions which the English translators have discarded. The mix of strong and weak divisions creates the Strong Theme teaching tool. A strong theme begins with a weak paragraph division {s} and continues through its concluding strong paragraph division {p}. To learn more about the Strong theme teaching tool, see Genesis 6, Bible for Beginners, and The Teaching Tools of Scripture.
The topic themes following the divisions are my own; your study may come up with something different.
1:1-2:3 {px7} God is our Creator
2:4-3:21 {s+s+p} Disobedience is sin with consequence of painful toil and death
3:22-6:4 {sx11+p} Exile, death follows from sin; life follows from walking with YHVH
6:5-8 {p} Exile is a consequence of sin, but Noah found grace in the eyes of YHVH
6:9-9:17 {sx3+p} God preserves the righteous and destroys the wicked
9:18-29 {p} Shem and Japheth blessed, and Canaan cursed
5:32-9:29 {p+p+sx3+p+p} The life of Noah
10:1-32 {s+s+p} Seventy descendants of Noah, the fathers of the nations
11:1-9 {p} The tower of Babel rebellion against God
10:1-11:9 {s+s+p+p} The nations build the tower of Babel in rebellion against God
11:10-32 {sx8+p} The seed of Shem
12:1-13:18 {p+p} Promise of land, descendants given, tested, confirmed
14:1-17:27 {sx4+p} The promised seed is Abram’s heir, not his father’s house (Lot), his house (Eliezer) nor his flesh (Ishmael)
18:1-21:21 {s+s+p} The promised seed prophesied, opposed, realized
21:22-34 {p} Abimelech and Abraham make a covenant of peace
22:1-19 {p} Abraham and the offering of Isaac
22:20-24 {p} The seed of Nahor
23:1-24:67 {s+p} YHVH has not forsaken His lovingkindness or truth toward Abraham
25:1-34 {px3} The seed of Abraham
26:1-32:2 {sx3+p} Transfer of the blessing, covenant, promises from Abraham to Isaac to Jacob
32:3-34:31 {s+s+p} Jacob’s faith in the promise tested (Esau and Shechem)
35:1-29 {px3} Repentance, return, renewal of the covenant defines the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
36:1-30 {s+p} The seed of Esau and Seir is Edom
36:31-37:36 {p+p} The seed of Edom and Jacob
38:1-39:23 {s+p} Judah, Joseph departed from their brothers to live among the pagans
40:1-23 {p} Joseph in prison
41:1-47:31 {sx3+p} Joseph raised to overseer to provide for his father and brothers
48:1-49:13 {px5} Jacob blesses his sons: the sons of Joseph, and Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Zebulun
49:14-26 {sx5+p} Jacob blesses his sons: Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Joseph
49:27-50:26 {p} Benjamin’s blessing/ death, burial of Jacob/ death of Joseph
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