The Bible Book

G

enesis (Beresht in Hebrew)

means the origin of

everything. For Jews,

Genesis is the first of the five books

of the Torah (the Pentateuch in

Greek) that open the Hebrew Bible.

It not only relates the origin of

humankind but also how the Jews’

ancestors, the Israelites, were

chosen by God to be monotheists.

For Christians, the origin story of

Genesis is the first in a pair of

bookends, the second of these

being Revelation, the last book

of the Bible, which describes

the apocalypse.

Themes and authors

Genesis divides into two sections,

the first concerning the primeval

period, and the second the

historical, or patriarchal, period,

although some scholars view the

story of Joseph as a third section.

The primeval period is concerned

with creation, disobedience (the

Fall, Cain and Abel), uncreation

and punishment (the Flood, Tower

of Babel), and recreation. In the

patriarchal period, God chooses

two descendants of Noah—

Abraham and Sarah—to travel to

the Promised Land and “be fruitful

and multiply.” The narratives then

follow the exploits of their offspring,

especially of Abraham’s grandson

Jacob, whose sons found the 12

tribes of Israel. In the final story,

Jacob’s son Joseph brings the

family to Egypt, preparing the

ground for the transition to the

Book of Exodus.

According to Jewish and

Christian traditions, Moses,

inspired by God, penned the

entire Torah, including his death

in Deuteronomy, a belief still held by

traditionalists. However, in the 17th

century, Protestant reformers began

to doubt the Mosaic authorship. In

1878, the German biblical scholar

Julius Wellhausen published his

theory that the Torah was written

by four authors, whom he labeled

J, E, P, and D—J for the Jahwist

who used the name YHWH for God;

E for the author who used Elohim;

P for the Priestly class who wrote

about genealogies and rituals

and created the structure for the

narratives of J and E; and D for the

author of Deuteronomy.

Many scholars see repetitions

and contradictions in Genesis as

a sign of this composite authorship.

Genesis 1 and 2, for example, tell

different creation stories, with God

creating humans at separate points

in the narrative. Abraham tells two

INTRODUCTION

2:7–22 4:8 11:1– 9 19:28–

7:11– 9 :17 15:18–

God creates Adam

and Eve, the first

man and woman,

who live in the

Garden of Eden.

Cain kills his

brother Abel in

the first example

of murder in

the Bible.

God destroys the

Tower of Babel

and scatters its

people around

the world.

Sodom and

Gomorrah are

destroyed by God

because the people

are sinners.

Over the course

of six days, God

creates the world,

and then rests

on the seventh.

Adam and Eve eat

the forbidden

fruit and God

expels them

from Eden.

God makes a

covenant with

Abraham to

worship only Him

and no other God.

18

God floods the earth,

leaving only the

patriarch Noah and

those with him on his

Ark to survive.

1:1–2:

3:6–

US_018-019_Genesis_Chapter_1_Intro.indd 18 28/09/17 2:43 pm