• Book of Genesis • Book of Exodus • Book of Leviticus • Book of Numbers • Book of Deuteronomy Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Ancient Greek γένεσις (génesis), meaning "birth, origin"; from B'reishit) (Biblical: B'reshiyth), meaning "In the beginning"[1]) is the first) ְּבֵראִׁשית Hebrew book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament . The narrative of the book traces the origin of God's chosen people, Israel and his descendants, from the Creation to their descent into Egypt; the succeeding books of the Torah follow their subsequent liberation from Egypt through the power of God. Structurally, it consists of the "primeval history" (chapters 1–11) and cycles of Patriarchal stories (chapters 12–50)—Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (renamed, Israel), and concluding with Joseph. While some traditions contained in it are as old as the monarchy, with some poetry that may be earlier, its final shape and message come only from the Exilic and Persian periods (6th and 5th centuries BCE).[2] For Jews and Christians alike, the theological importance of Genesis centers on the Covenants linking the Lord (God) to his Chosen People and the people to the Promised Land . Christianity has interpreted Genesis as the prefiguration of certain cardinal Christian beliefs, primarily the need for salvation (the hope of all Christians) and the redemptive act of Christ on the Cross as the fulfillment of covenant promises as the Son of God. Contents • 1 Synopsis • 2 Content o 2.1 Primeval history o 2.2 Patriarchal history . 2.2.1 Abraham and Isaac . 2.2.2 Jacob . 2.2.3 Joseph • 3 Text and composition o 3.1 Text o 3.2 Composition • 4 Themes o 4.1 Religion of the Patriarchs . 4.1.1 Alt's "Religion of the Patriarchs" . 4.1.2 Conservative views o 4.2 Covenants . 4.2.1 Covenant with Noah . 4.2.2 Patriarchal covenants • 5 See also • 6 Further reading • 7 References • 8 External links Synopsis God calls the world into being through his divine word and appoints man as his regent; but, man proves corrupt and God destroys his world through the Flood. The new world after the Flood is equally corrupt; but, God does not destroy it, instead calling one man, Abraham, to be the seed of its salvation. At God's command Abraham descends from his home into the land of Canaan, given to him by God. Abraham dwells in the land as a sojourner, as does his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob, whose name is changed to Israel. Jacob and his twelve sons descend into Egypt, 70 persons in all with their households, and God promises them a future of greatness. Content Primeval history See also: • Genesis creation narrative , on Genesis 1-2 • Bereishit , on Genesis 1-6: Creation, Eden, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Lamech, wickedness • Noach , on Genesis 6-11: Noah’s Ark, the Flood, Noah’s drunkenness, the Tower of Babel God ("Elohim") creates the world in six days and consecrates the seventh. The world God creates is good, but it becomes corrupted by the sin of man and God sends a deluge (a great flood) to destroy it, saving only a man who is righteous (Noah), his wife, his sons and his daughters in law, from whose seed the world is repopulated ("be fruitful and multiply").[Gen 8:17] Mankind falls back into rebelliousness, but God has promised that he will not destroy it a second time, and selects Abraham to be the seed of his chosen people, Israel. Patriarchal history Abraham and Isaac See also: • Lech-Lecha, on Genesis 12-17: Abraham, Sarah, Lot, covenant, Hagar and Ishmael, circumcision • Vayeira , on Genesis 18-22: Abraham's visitors, Sodomites, Lot’s visitors and flight, Hagar expelled, binding of Isaac • Chayei Sarah , on Genesis 23-25: Sarah buried, Rebekah for Isaac God reveals himself to Abram, tenth in descent from Noah and twentieth from Adam, and instructs him to travel to the land which Canaan's descendants had settled. "Lift up your eyes, and look ... for all the land which you see I will give to you and to your descendants for ever. I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your descendants also can be counted. Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you."[Gen 13] God makes a covenant with Abram,[3] promising that his descendants shall be as numerous as the stars in the heavens, but that they shall suffer oppression in a foreign land for four hundred years, after which they shall inherit the land "from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates."[Gen 15] [4] Abram's name is changed to "Abraham" and that of his wife Sarai to "Sarah," and circumcision of all males is instituted as an external sign of the covenant. Sarah is barren, and tells Abram to take her Egyptian handmaiden, Hagar, as a concubine. Through Hagar, Abraham becomes the father of Ishmael,[5] Abraham asks God that Ishmael "might live in Thy sight," (that is, be favoured), but God replies that Sarah will bear a son, who will be named Isaac,[6] through whom the covenant will be established.[Gen 17] At Sarah's insistence Ishmael and his mother Hagar are driven out into the wilderness, but God saves them and promises to make Ishmael also a great nation. God resolves to destroy the city of Sodom for the sins of its people. Abraham protests that it is not just "to slay the righteous with the wicked," and asks if the whole city can be spared if even ten righteous men are found there. God replies: "For the sake of ten I will not destroy it."[Gen 18] [7] Abraham's nephew Lot is saved from the destruction of Sodom, and through incest with his daughters becomes the ancestor of the Moabites and Ammonites.[Gen 19] God tests Abraham by commanding that he sacrifice Isaac. Abraham obeys; but, as he is about to lay the knife upon his son, God restrains him, promising him numberless descendants.[Gen 22] On the death of Sarah, Abraham purchases Machpelah for a family tomb[Gen 2] and sends his servant to Mesopotamia, Nahor's home, to find among his relations a wife for Isaac; and Rebekah, Nahor's granddaughter, is chosen.[Gen 24] Other children are born to Abraham by another wife, Keturah, among whose descendants are the Midianites; and he dies in a prosperous old age and is buried in his tomb at Hebron.[Gen 25] [edit] Jacob Jacob Wrestling with the Angel by Alexander Louis Leloir. See also: • Toledot , on Genesis 25-28: Esau and Jacob, Esau's birthright, Isaac’s blessing • Vayetze , on Genesis 28-32: Jacob flees, Rachel, Leah, Laban, Jacob’s children and departure • Vayishlach , on Genesis 32-36: Jacob’s reunion with Esau, the rape of Dinah Isaac's wife Rebekah is barren, but Isaac prays to God, and she gives birth to the twins Esau, father of the Edomites,[8] and Jacob.[9] Jacob's name is changed to Israel, and by his wives Rachel and Leah and their handmaidens he has twelve sons, the ancestors of the twelve tribes of the Children of Israel. [edit] Joseph See also: • Vayeshev , on Genesis 37-40: Joseph's dreams, coat, and slavery, Judah with Tamar, Joseph and Potiphar • Miketz , on Genesis 41-44: Pharaoh’s dream, Joseph's in government, Joseph’s brothers visit Egypt • Vayigash , on Genesis 44-47: Joseph reveals himself, Jacob moves to Egypt • Vayechi , on Genesis 47-50: Jacob’s blessings, death of Jacob and of Joseph Jacob's son Judah takes a Canaanite wife. They have three sons. The oldest, Er marries an Israelite woman named Tamar. Er dies and Judah gives Tamar to his second son. He dies also leaving Tamar childless. Tamar tricks Judah into fathering twin sons, the oldest Pharez is an ancestor of the future royal house of David. Jacob's favourite son, Joseph, is sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, who resent the favouritism shown him. But Joseph prospers, and when famine comes he brings his father and his brothers and their households, seventy persons in all, to Egypt, where Pharaoh assigns to them the land of Goshen.[Gen 46-47] Jacob calls his sons to his bedside and reveals their future to them[Gen 49] before he dies and is interred in the family tomb at Machpelah (Hebron). Joseph lives to see his great-grandchildren, and on his death-bed he exhorts his brethren, if God should remember them and lead them out of the country, to take his bones with them. The book ends with Joseph's remains being "put in a coffin in Egypt."[Gen 50] [edit] Text and composition Bereshit aleph, or the first chapter of Genesis, written on an egg, which is kept in the Israel Museum. [edit] Text The oldest extant manuscripts of Genesis are the twenty-four fragments found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, dating from between 150 BC and AD 70. The next oldest are the Greek Septuagint manuscripts of the Codex Sinaiticus and Vaticanus, produced by the early Christian church in the 4th century. The oldest manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, which forms the basis of Jewish worship and many Western Christian bibles, date from around AD 1000. Also worthy of note are the Samaritan and Syriac translations. Modern scholarly translations rely on all these manuscripts, attempting to find the best possible version through critical examination of the texts.