Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
Genesis
TITLE
Genesis (Heb. Bere'shith, lit. "in the beginning") is the first book of the Pentateuch or Torah (a designation for the first five books of the Old Testament). The title "Genesis" was first used in the Septuagint (a Greek translation of the Old Testament).
AUTHOR
Though Genesis has no explicit authorship statement, its inclusion in the Pentateuch suggests Mosaic authorship. Other books — Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy — all assert Mosaic authorship (Ex 17:14; 24:4-8; 34:27; Nu 33:1-2; Dt 31:9,22). In the rest of the Old Testament, the Pentateuch is referred to collectively as "the Book of the Law of Moses" (Jos 8:31; 2Ki 14:6; Ne 13:1). The New Testament confirms this authorship (Mt 19:8; Lk 24:27; Jn 5:45-47; Ac 3:22; Ro 10:5; Rev 15:3). The familiarity of the writer of Genesis with Egyptian geography (Ge 45:10; 47:11) confirms that the author was well acquainted with Egyptian culture, as would have been Moses, who was reared in the household of Pharaoh. Some short sections of Genesis, such as the list of kings from the period of the Israelite monarchy, may have been added during the time of the divided kingdom (Ge 36); in the same way, cities are often given the names they bore during the time of the monarchy rather than their patriarchal names. These scribal additions could well have been made in the process of copying manuscripts and do not affect the book's message other than to improve the clarity of Genesis for contemporary readers.
DATE
The book tells the story of mankind from creation to the death of Joseph. Dating the events that relate to the creation, the flood, and the repopulation of the earth is impossible (Ge 1-11), but the remainder of the book deals with the patriarchal age, which is roughly the same as the Middle Bronze Age (1950-1550 BC). The customs found in Genesis bear striking parallels to laws and customs recorded in other documents of the second millennium, most notably those found in tablets discovered at the Hurrian city of Nuzi in northeastern Mesopotamia.
The Pentateuch as a whole was written between the exodus and the death of Moses (Dt 34). The exodus is variously dated, with 1445 BC as the earliest date. If this date is assumed, the death of Moses would fall around 1400 BC. Genesis was thus produced sometime in the late fifteenth century BC, several centuries after the patriarchs whose lives it describes.
BACKGROUND
Setting
The setting is vast in scope since the book opens with the creation of the universe and closes with the small but growing number of the descendants of Jacob, now identified as Israel, who settled in the choice land of the Nile delta of Egypt. In between, the action focuses on the entire Fertile Crescent from the universal flood (which ended on the mountains of Ararat) and the tower of Babel (in the land of Shinar) to Abraham's journeys throughout Canaan.
Purpose
Genesis answers the question, "Who are we, and where did we come from?" God as the only Creator presented himself to a people about to enter a land filled with false idols. God confirmed his selection and sovereign preservation of this nation facing hardships in a new land. Most importantly, Genesis reveals that Israel was set apart by God from the very beginning of creation. This knowledge provided a motivation for Israel to remain free from the idolatry and paganism surrounding the nation.
Audience
The Israelites were about to enter Canaan. Since the older generation (except Joshua and Caleb) had died in the desert, no others were left with a personal memory of God's miraculous deliverance from the Egyptians. The young nation entering the promised land would be faced with an immense temptation to assimilate the idolatry, intermarriage and customs of the pagan nations around them. This same temptation faces God's people in every generation; Genesis reveals that God's plan for setting apart his people stretches back to creation.
Literary Characteristics
Genesis is a carefully structured book; its literary structure reinforces its explicit message. The first section, the story of creation (Ge 1:1-2:3), is set up in two segments of three days each. The creative works of the first and the fourth days are parallel, since during the first day God created light and darkness, while on the fourth day he created the sun and moon to govern the periods of light and darkness. On the second day, the firmament divided the waters; on the fifth day, the inhabitants of the sky and water were created. The third day dry land and vegetation appeared; the sixth day land-dwellers were created to consume the vegetation. The structure emphasizes God's plan and control over all aspects of creation.
After the introductory section, the book is divided by the recurrent phrase "This is the account of" (Heb. toledoth). Each occurrence of this phrase marks a new stage in God's development of a chosen people. The story of mankind is presented as a whole (Ge 2:4 — 4:26). After the judgment of mankind, the phrase appears repeatedly as a reminder that God chooses one man from each family (for example, Seth, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) to lead in preserving and carrying on the godly line. Also clear are the partnerships the patriarchs enjoyed with their wives — Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Rachel were part of God's plan as well. The passing of God's covenant promises from one generation to the next is emphasized by the parallel structure of the stories themselves. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob all traveled to Egypt; all three endured tests followed by covenant renewals. Sarah, Rebekah and Rachel all suffered from barrenness, but each experienced God's grace in bearing children who would play a major role in the building of a nation.
The primary theme of Genesis is God's formation of the nation and his providential protection of a special people for himself. The methods God used to call out and shape this nation form the minor themes of the book.
God's Sovereignty — God appears first as sovereign Creator and Ruler; his power over history and the actions of his people reappears throughout the book in his preservation of his chosen ones.
God's Covenant — God uses the "covenant" (Heb. berith) continually to separate one man from the rest of mankind. The first covenant is made with Adam in the Garden of Eden (Ge 2:16-17; see chart, The Covenants of Genesis). After the fall, God continues to make covenants with each subsequent generation, selecting one man from each family to continue godly seed for the next generation. Covenants are made with Noah (Ge 9:9), Abraham (Ge 12:1-3), Isaac (Ge 26:2-5) and Jacob (Ge 28:13-15).
God's Redemption — The story of the formation of the chosen people is the story of redemption. The "offspring," the godly line of those faithful to the Lord, will eventually crush the "offspring" of the serpent, the wicked who live in rebellion against God (Ge 3:14-15). This prophecy was ultimately fulfilled in the coming of Christ. Since Israel was God's chosen nation from whom the Messiah was to come, Israel's story reveals God's redemptive action in human history.
THEMES
The Threat to God's Plan — The fourth theme of Genesis is the struggle of the serpent and his offspring to destroy the chosen family. Sin, famine, war and the threat of national assimilation into the surrounding Canaanite culture conspired to block the fulfillment of God's covenant promises. These threats are continually diverted by God's sovereign, preserving power.
OUTLINE
I. Introduction: The Origins of the Heavens and the Earth (1:1 — 2:3)
II. The Generations of the Heavens and the Earth: The Entry of Man (2:4 — 4:26)
III. The Generations of Adam: The Chosen Line (5:1 — 6:8)
IV. The Generations of Noah: Judgment on the Earth (6:9 — 9:29)
V. The Generations of Noah's Sons: The Spread of Mankind (10:1 — 11:9)
VI. The Generations of Shem: God's Choice of Abram (11:10 — 25:11)
VII. The Generations of Ishmael and Isaac: The Blessing of Abraham (25:12 — 35:29)
VIII. The Generations of Esau: The Edomites (36:1-43)
IX. The Generations of Jacob: The Saving of Israel by Joseph (37:1 — 50:26)
The Beginning
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning — the first day.
6 And God said, "Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water." 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning — the second day.
9 And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning — the third day.
14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. 16 God made two great lights — the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning — the fourth day.
20 And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky." 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." 23 And there was evening, and there was morning — the fifth day.
24 And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, "Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground — everything that has the breath of life in it — I give every green plant for food." And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning — the sixth day.
2 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
Adam and Eve
4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.
5 Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "The Woman's Study Bible"
by .
Copyright © 2017 Thomas Nelson.
Excerpted by permission of Thomas Nelson.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
![THE HOLY BIBLE FOR NOOK - American Standard Version / Go to Verse [New NOOK edition with best navigation & active TOC]: ASV](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/2940012774330_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "THE HOLY BIBLE FOR NOOK - American Standard Version / Go to Verse [New NOOK edition with best navigation & active TOC]: ASV")
