Sarah Rosenson, "Fan Fiction on the Book of Genesis: A Guide to Close Reading of and Creative Writing on the Bible" (Cherry Orchard Books, 2026)

July 14, 2026

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5 min read

Sarah Rosenson, a former lawyer turned Bible teacher, came to the Book of Genesis as an adult with no prior religious instruction. She had no rabbi, no Sunday school teacher, no inherited tradition telling her which characters were heroes and which were villains. That clean slate shaped her entire approach to the text. In Fan Fiction on the Book of Genesis, she argues that the Bible’s most famous stories are deliberately incomplete — full of narrative gaps, unspoken motivations, missing conversations, and unresolved ethical questions. Rather than treating these gaps as flaws, Rosenson sees them as invitations. Her book is both a guide to close reading and a prompt for creative writing, modeled on the ancient Jewish tradition of midrash and the modern phenomenon of fan fiction.

The Cookie Jar Problem: Rethinking Adam, Eve, and Divine Authority

Rosenson challenges the conventional reading of the Garden of Eden by reframing God’s command not to eat from the tree of knowledge. She compares it to a parent telling a child, “Whatever you do, do not take a cookie out of the cookie jar.” The moment the prohibition is stated, the child wants nothing more than to do exactly what was forbidden. This psychological dynamic, she suggests, is built into the story itself — and it complicates any simple moral judgment about Eve’s decision.

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What you'll learn

1 (01:20) **Introducing the Book and Author** - Host Dr. Baku welcomes Sarah Rosenson, author of *Fan Fiction on the Book of Genesis*, which treats Genesis as an intentionally open narrative filled with gaps for creative engagement.
2 (06:16) **Rethinking Adam and Eve: Divine Authority and the Serpent** - The story challenges the view of the serpent as purely evil and God’s command as protective, not punitive.
3 (09:03) **Adam’s Silence and the Burden of Blame** - Adam’s complete silence during the serpent encounter reshapes questions of responsibility, as Eve has historically taken all the blame.
4 (12:28) **How to Fill Gaps Responsibly** - Guidelines for creating “good” midrash or fan fiction: it must not contradict the text, and readers must avoid projecting modern assumptions onto ancient characters.
5 (16:32) **Noah: Righteous Obedience or Moral Failure?** - Noah never questions God’s plan to destroy humanity, unlike Abraham who challenges God over justice.
6 (22:12) **Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar: Laughter and Double Standards** - God gets angry at Sarah for laughing at the promise of a child but not at Abraham for the same reaction—suggesting sexism in the text.
7 (26:07) **The Binding of Isaac: Why Abraham Doesn’t Bargain** - Abraham passionately negotiates for Sodom’s innocents but says nothing when Isaac’s life is demanded—a stark contrast.

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Show Notes

Can creative writing become a form of biblical interpretation?

That is the provocative question at the heart of my conversation with Sarah Rosenson about her new book, Fan Fiction on the Book of Genesis: A Guide to Close Reading of and Creative Writing on the Bible (Cherry Orchard Books, 2026).

The modern phenomenon of fan fiction involves readers writing creative pieces that answer questions left open in favorite works of literature. This also describes the ancient tradition of midrash, where readers write stories filling in gaps in the Bible. In Fan Fiction on the Book of Genesis Sarah Rosenson discusses the questions left open in the first book of the Bible, and every chapter includes questions for the characters in the stories, which can serve as prompts for conversations or creative writing.

Rosenson argues that careful reading reveals narrative gaps: characters whose motivations remain unexplained, conversations that never occur, ethical dilemmas left unresolved, and emotions that are only implied. Drawing on the long tradition of Jewish midrash, she proposes that readers can engage these silences through disciplined creative writing, using imagination not as a substitute for close reading but as an extension of it.

In our conversation, we discussed some of Genesis's most familiar stories from unexpected angles. What if Eve's pursuit of knowledge is more complex than simple disobedience? Why does Noah never challenge God's decision to destroy the world? What happens when Hagar's perspective becomes central rather than peripheral? Why does Abraham argue for the people of Sodom but remain silent when Isaac is placed on the altar? And how does the Joseph narrative negotiate the relationship between divine providence and human responsibility?

We also explore the broader methodological questions raised by the book. Does describing midrash as "fan fiction" make an ancient interpretive tradition more accessible, or does it risk misunderstanding it? How far can readers imaginatively expand biblical narratives while remaining faithful to the text? And what safeguards distinguish responsible interpretation from speculation?

Whether you are interested in biblical studies, literary criticism, Jewish interpretation, or creative writing, our conversation offers a thoughtful discussion of how ancient texts continue to invite new readings. More than providing answers, Rosenson's book encourages readers to ask better questions and, in doing so, to discover that Genesis remains as intellectually and ethically challenging today as it has been for centuries.

You can find more about Sarah and her work here.

Amisah Bakuri (PhD) is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty o