Genesis 1

I have a goal to memorize as much of the Bible (old and new) as possible, along with understanding it all and knowing in which part each thing takes place, where to find this thing or that. I saw that movie The Book of Eli and just LOVED that part of the movie. That he carried that book with him til his death and short of taking away parts of his brain, nothing anyone did could take the book completely from him.

I suppose I also love that in that book Fahrenheit 451 all those people have each memorized an entire book. (someone ready to memorize War and Peace??)

To that end I've begun with the first chapter of every book. I've focused most on Genesis 1 and can now say the first 14 verses flawlessly and the 15th verse with a little less certainty (but nearly flawless now). I'm ready for verse 16, or, I've started on it. So you know, if you want to know when the 'greater' and 'lesser' lights are made to rule Day and Night, it's verse 16.

I also like knowing how to compare each verse of scripture to a matching one elsewhere in the Bible. What's the point of knowing the words without them having some use? I mean, other than it's pretty. I can do better with the first and fourth verses of each book than I can with the 16th, as I have not made it that far in any of the other books. I'm almost as far in Exodus as I am in Genesis. It helps that so far each of these verses have been short. I don't know what I shall do when I get to Isaiah and after the Gospels in the New Testament. Wondering how long that will take me! I will enjoy updating you all on my progress.

Oh, this is the King James Version of the Bible. The prettiest, to my knowledge. But wouldn't it be fabulous to know at least key parts of the Bible by heart in other versions (wording)? Or perhaps, just to be able to say it in Hebrew or something (I don't know Hebrew so I suppose that's something for my old age, if I'm blessed to still be able to memorize when I am old).

By the way, this puts me halfway through memorizing Genesis chapter 1 as there are 31 verses. Once chapter 1 is down pat I will be working on all those other  chapter 1s of the Bible before moving on to chapter 2. So, if you want to take this challenge then you could do all of Genesis, easily, before I make it back to chapter 2.

No people, no animals or fishies or birds or buzzing things yet. But seas and land and grass and fruit and herbs and seeds. And the firmament, of course, the waters above the firmament. Earth and Sky, Day and Night. Seasons, days, years. Signs (so, comets? supernovas? aurora borealises? what else?)

Were we all to gather to recite the books we have memorized in full one day, it could be San Franciscco (ideally, Alcatraz) as in the movie The Book of Eli. Or as in Fahrenheit 451 we could meet under a bridge or in a clearing or abandoned railroad yard (I forget exactly where it is that they convene). Or, if we went Old Testament, we could meet on Mt. Sinai or in Jerusalem or the pyramids of Egypt.

New Testament style we could go to the edge of the Sea of Galilee, or Bethlehem, to Samarkand (where I imagine the Wise men meeting up before going on to see the baby Jesus). Not Rome. I just think of lions ripping 9 year olds and 90 year olds apart while someone eats the olive and drinks and laughs up in the seats of the Coliseum.

Let me know if you decide to do this challenge in some form (or if you've already done this) and share your progress along with mine, if you'd like!