The facts...
The book of beginnings
and more...
The story...
Creation → the fall → the flood → the tower → Abraham → Isaac → Jacob → Joseph → the family in Egypt.
The story of Genesis moves in stages.
Creation. In the beginning, God created everything. Genesis opens with the foundations of our existence: time — "In the beginning"; space — "the heavens"; and matter — "the earth." God then brought energy and light, ordered the world, filled it with plants and animals, and finally made mankind in His own image. Everything He made was good, and He placed the man and woman in a garden.
The fall. Our first parents, Adam and Eve, disobeyed God. Sin entered the world, and with it death, shame, and the breaking of every relationship. But even in the judgment, God spoke a promise: the seed of the woman would crush the serpent. [The serpent is Satan]
"And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." — Genesis 3:15 KJV [Enmity — deep hostility or hatred]
The flood. Humanity became so corrupted that God judged the world with a flood, saving Noah and his family. The world got a fresh start — and sin came with it.
The tower. At Babel, humanity gathered to make a name for itself and defy God. He confused their languages, and they scattered across the earth and became the nations.
The patriarchs. God called Abraham out of his people and family with a promise: he would have a land, a people, and a blessing that would reach every nation on earth. But to start with, all he had was a direction to start to walk.
"And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." — Genesis 12:2-3 KJV
The promise passed to Isaac, then to Jacob — renamed Israel — and his twelve sons became the twelve tribes of Israel.
Joseph. Joseph, Jacob's son, was sold into slavery by his own brothers — but God used it to save the family. Through a famine, the family of Israel came down to Egypt, where they grew from a family into a people.
Written in Hebrew, the language of Israel.
Genesis — the Greek title given to the book — means "origin" or "beginning." The book of origins or beginnings.
Early records. Genesis appears to preserve and bring together much older records handed down through the generations. The repeated "these are the generations of…" formula may mark the divisions of earlier records associated with figures such as Adam, Noah, Shem, Terah and Isaac. The updating of older names appears to support older text being edited into Genesis.
"the king of Bela, which is Zoar." Genesis 14:2. This appears to be an earlier name, updated for readers of Moses' day.
Moses and Genesis. Jewish and Christian tradition has long regarded Moses as the author or compiler of the Pentateuch — the first five books of the Bible. Moses appears to have brought together these ancient records, traditions and revelations into the form we have in Genesis, under God's direction.
The covenant — a binding promise God makes and keeps. Genesis introduces God's covenant with Noah and establishes the covenant with Abraham, which becomes central to the rest of the Bible.
The seed — the offspring or descendant. The promise of "the seed of the woman" in Genesis 3:15 is the first thread of a hope that runs through the whole Bible.
The early chapters tell the story through families and generations. The patriarchs were a wandering family of tent-dwellers before their descendants became the nation of Israel.
So what is Genesis really about?
It is not mainly a collection of ancient origin stories, or a moral tale of heroes and villains. Genesis is the true beginning. The Bible's one story: the holy God who made all things is saving a people for Himself, and He is doing it through one family, leading to one descendant.
The book answers the questions every human asks: Where did we come from? What went wrong? Is there any hope? — and it answers them in one sentence: God made, we broke, God promised.
What does the Bible say about the beginnings...
The promise of a Saviour begins here
"It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." — Genesis 3:15 KJV
[We call this verse the protoevangelion from Greek: proto = first, earliest and evangelion = good news, so the first good news.]
"In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." — Genesis 12:3 KJV
"Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ." — Galatians 3:16 KJV
The rest of the Bible is the unfolding of Genesis: the family becomes a nation, the nation receives the law, the nation fails, and the promised seed finally comes — in Jesus Christ.
Genesis is where the gospel thread is first tied. The promised Saviour begins to come into view through promises, people, sacrifices and events that point forward to Christ.
Genesis does not give us the whole gospel. But here we find its first promise, its first sacrifices, its first pictures and its first great patterns. The thread that begins in Genesis runs through the whole Bible and leads to Jesus Christ.
Genesis reveals God as:
He is the God who begins things — and who finishes them.
Genesis is not ancient history to be admired from a distance.
"And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good." — Genesis 50:19-20 KJV
God speaks the world into being — light, sky, land, seas, plants, sun and moon, fish and birds and animals — and finally mankind, made in God's own image.
The seventh day — God rests and blesses it. The man is formed from the dust, the woman from his side, and the first marriage begins.
The serpent deceives the woman; Adam and Eve both eat the forbidden fruit; sin enters the world, and even in the judgment, God promises the seed of the woman.
The first brothers. Abel's offering is accepted, Cain's is not; envy leads to the first murder, and the line of Cain begins.
The line from Adam to Noah — and Enoch, who walked with God.
The sons of God and the daughters of men; the Nephilim; the earth's wickedness — and Noah finds grace and builds the ark.
The springs and the windows of heaven open; everything outside the ark with the "breath of life" (Genesis 7:22) dies; but the ark floats above the waters.
The raven and the dove; the ground dries; Noah leaves the ark and offers sacrifice.
God's covenant with Noah — the rainbow, the command to multiply, and the curse on Noah's grandson Canaan.
The families of Noah's sons spread over the earth.
The tower of Babel, the confusion of languages, and the generations from Shem to Terah — Abram is born.
God calls Abram — the promise of land, seed, and blessing. He goes to Canaan, then down to Egypt.
Abram and Lot divide the land; God renews the promise.
The kings' war; Abram rescues Lot; Melchizedek blesses him and receives the tithe.
God's covenant with Abram — the stars, the deep sleep, the smoking furnace, and the promise of the land.
Sarai gives Hagar to Abram; Ishmael is born; the angel finds Hagar by the spring.
The covenant of circumcision; Abram becomes Abraham, Sarai becomes Sarah; Isaac is promised.
The Lord visits Abraham at Mamre; Sarah laughs at the promise; the three men turn toward Sodom, and Abraham intercedes.
The cities are destroyed; Lot is rescued; his wife looks back; the daughters' plan brings Moab and Ammon.
Abraham and Abimelech; Sarah is protected; Abraham prays, and Abimelech's household is healed.
Isaac is born; Hagar and Ishmael are sent away; the well of Beersheba is dug.
The hardest test — Isaac is offered, the lamb is provided, and the oath is renewed.
Sarah dies; Abraham buys the cave of Machpelah.
Abraham's servant finds Rebekah at the well — the camels, the ring, and the wedding.
Abraham's later family and his death; Ishmael's line; the twins are born, and the birthright is sold for stew.
Isaac in Gerar — the wells, the covenant renewed, and Esau's wives.
Jacob steals the blessing; Esau's fury rises; Rebekah's plan sends Jacob away.
Jacob flees to Haran; at Bethel he dreams of a ladder, and makes a vow.
Jacob meets Rachel; Laban's trick; Leah and Rachel; the first children are born.
The sons of Jacob; Rachel's mandrakes; the flocks increase under Jacob's care.
Jacob flees with his family; Laban pursues; the covenant is made at Mizpah.
Jacob prepares to meet Esau; at Peniel he wrestles with God and receives the name Israel.
The meeting with Esau — the reconciliation; Jacob settles at Shechem.
Dinah is defiled; the brothers' revenge brings disaster.
Jacob returns to Bethel; Rachel dies at Ephrath; Isaac dies; the sons are listed.
The generations of Esau — the Edomites.
Joseph's dreams; the brothers' hatred; the pit; the sale to the Midianites; the bloody coat.
Judah and Tamar; the twins Perez and Zerah.
Joseph in Potiphar's house; the false accusation; the prison — and the Lord with him.
The cupbearer and the baker; the dreams; Joseph interprets — and is forgotten.
Pharaoh's dreams; Joseph interprets; the seven years of plenty and famine; Joseph is exalted over Egypt.
The brothers come to buy grain; Joseph tests them; Simeon is held; they return with grain and dread.
The second journey with Benjamin; the brothers are brought to Joseph's house for the feast.
The cup in Benjamin's sack; Judah's plea before Joseph.
Joseph reveals himself; the reconciliation; the invitation for the whole family to come to Egypt.
Jacob's family goes down to Egypt; the list of names; the meeting with Joseph.
The family settles in Goshen; the famine years; Jacob asks to be buried in Canaan.
Jacob blesses Joseph's sons — the crossed hands, and the younger before the elder.
Jacob's blessing over the twelve sons — the prophecies; his death.
The burial in Canaan; Joseph's reassurance to his brothers; his death — the promise still unfolding.