05 · Practical examples
Notes
What you’ll learn
On this page · 4 topics
Listen: dust and dignity
1. Read the words about the earth
Open Genesis, chapter 3, and find verse 19. Read the words about humanity returning to the earth. This is the starting point for the musical commentary.
2. Open the music note
Click the notes icon beside the verse. In the Musique section, find “Nous sommes poussière et nous y retournerons” and click its title. The work discussed inside the note is Polla ta deina. Read the explanation connecting the music with the words about returning to the earth. Find your way / Music note “Nous sommes poussière et nous y retournerons” is the note’s title in the list. “Polla ta deina” is the title of the musical work inside it. The note includes references to Genesis 3:19 and Psalm 8:4–6.
3. Listen to the opening
Press Play in the audio player. Listen to the first 30–45 seconds, then pause. Notice what draws your attention: the voice, the accompaniment or the mood. There is no single right response.
4. Follow the link to Psalm 8
In the note, find Ps 8,4-6 and click it. The red link appears below the information about the performers. Read the question about humanity beneath the heavens, the moon and the stars. The note connects the musical work with both mortality and human dignity.
5. Compare the two passages
Return to Genesis 3:19 using the book and chapter selectors. How do the words about returning to the earth differ from the perspective of Psalm 8? The music invites you to read these texts together while attending to the meaning of each passage.
Watch: the question to Job
1. Return to the beginning of Genesis
Open Genesis 1:1–3 and read the opening lines about creation. Open the notes for this passage and find the film note about The Tree of Life. Click its title and read the introduction. Find your way / Film note Look for “La création du monde résumée en 2 minutes chrono !”. This is the note’s title; the video excerpt inside runs for 3:44.
2. Choose an image
Play the video in the note. You do not need to watch the whole 3:44 excerpt on a first visit. Choose an image you would like to compare with the opening of Genesis, then pause.
3. Read the question to Job
Find Jb 38,4 in the note and open it. The verse asks where the human being was when the earth was founded. How does the question sound after the image you chose? Treat the film as an artistic interpretation, rather than a literal depiction of the biblical account.
4. Return to the words of Genesis
Open Genesis 1:1–3 again. What do you notice after watching the excerpt? Distinguish your own impression from what the biblical text and the BEST explanation explicitly say.
Words and sources
1. Open the historical commentary
Find Genesis 1:3 and open its notes. Choose the commentary about the historical context of the creation account. Pay attention to the words “God said” as you follow the commentary’s links.
2. Follow the literary-techniques reference
Find Procédés littéraires Gn 1,3-31 in the commentary and click it. Read the passage about speech and action in the account. The link opens another note. Find your way / A link to another note “Procédés littéraires Gn 1,3-31” appears near the end of the historical commentary, in the paragraph about the word through which God brings order to chaos. It leads to a commentary, not to the next biblical chapter.
3. Find the bibliography
Return to the original commentary. If it has closed, open it again from Genesis 1:3. Find →Enūma Eliš and click it. The bibliography identifies editions used for the comparison. Find your way / Bibliographical reference The arrow before “Enūma Eliš” marks a bibliographical reference. Follow it to the publication information used by the commentary.
4. Check what the author cites
Look at the publication details: Philippe Talon, Helsinki 2005, and Paris, Cerf, 2019. A bibliographical record helps you locate a source; it is distinct from the ancient text itself.
An object and a wider theme
1. Open the museum record
In the historical note, find BM 93014→. This link opens the British Museum website. In the record, find the number 93014 and the object’s material: clay. Read how the museum describes the tablet with a bilingual creation account. Find your way / An external source “BM 93014→” appears in the paragraph about the Babylonian creation account. It leads to the museum’s website, rather than another BEST note.
2. Return to the note
If the museum opened in a new tab, select your Bible tab. If it opened in the same tab, use your browser’s Back button. If the external website fails to load, you can continue reading the note without the museum record.
3. Open an overview article
Near the end of the commentary, find “Sagesse, le Logos et la Tora dans l’œuvre de la Création”. Open it and read the beginning. This ABC article explores a wider theme connecting creation, Wisdom, the Logos and the Torah. Read the article itself to assess its conclusions, rather than relying on its title.
4. Return with a new question
Close the guide and find Genesis 1:3 again. How do speech and action relate in the account? Continue reading with the question raised by the notes and sources.