Each book of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament, called the Torah [instruction] by the Jews) originally received its title in the Hebrew Bible from the first word or words in the book.1The Hebrew word translated "in the beginning"is beresit. The English title "Genesis,"however, has come to us from the Latin Vulgate translation of Jerome (Liber Genesis). The Latin title came from the Septuagint translation (the Greek translation of the Old Testament made about 300 years before Christ). "Genesis"is a transliteration of the Greek word geneseos, the Greek word that translates the Hebrew toledot. This Hebrew word is the key word in identifying the structure of Genesis, and the translators have usually rendered it "account"or "generations"(2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10, 27; 25:12, 19; 36:1, 9; 37:2).
The events recorded date back to the creation of the world.
Many Christians believe the earth is millions of years old. They base this belief on the statements of scientists and understand Scripture in the light of these statements. Likewise, many Christians believe that the human race began hundreds of thousands of years ago for the same reason.
Most evangelicals who take the Scriptures seriously believe that the earth is not much older than 10, 000 years. They base this on the genealogies in Scripture (Gen. 5; 10; 11; et al.), which they understand to be "open"(i.e., not complete). Evangelicals usually hold to a more recent date for man's creation, also for the same reason.
A smaller group of evangelicals believes that the genealogies are either "closed"(i.e., complete) or very close to complete. This leads us to date the creation of the world and man about 6, 000 years ago.2
Liberal interpreters have placed the date of composition of Genesis much later than Moses' lifetime.
If one accepts Mosaic authorship, as most conservative evangelicals do, the date of composition of Genesis must be within Moses' lifetime (ca. 1525-1405 B.C.). This book was perhaps originally intended to encourage the Israelites to trust in their faithful, omnipotent God as they anticipated entrance into the Promised Land from Kadesh Barnea or from the Plains of Moab.3Moses may have written it earlier to prepare them for the Exodus,4but this seems less likely.
The authorship of the Pentateuch has been the subject of great controversy among professing Christians since Spinoza introduced "higher criticism"of the Bible in the seventeenth century. The "documentary hypothesis,"which developed from his work, is that Moses did not write the Pentateuch, as most scholars in Judaism and the church until that day believed. Instead, it was the product of several writers who lived much later than Moses. A redactor (editor) or redactors combined these several documents into the form we have now. These documents (J, E, D, P, and others) represent a Yahwistic tradition, an Elohistic tradition, a Deuteronomic tradition, a Priestly tradition, etc.5
The evidence that Moses wrote the Pentateuch is conclusive if one believes that Jesus Christ spoke the truth when He attributed authorship to Moses (Matt. 19:8; Mark 7:10; Luke 18:29-31; 20:37; 24:27; John 7:19). Jesus Christ did not specifically say that Moses wrote Genesis, but in our Lord's day the Jews regarded the Pentateuch (Torah) as a whole unit. They recognized Moses as the author of all five books. Consequently they would have understood what Jesus said about any of the five books of Moses as an endorsement of the Mosaic authorship of them all.6
The events recorded in Genesis stretch historically from Creation to Joseph's death, a period of at least 2500 years. The first part of the book (ch. 1-11) is not as easy to date precisely as the second part (ch. 12-50). The history of the patriarchs recorded in this second main division of the text covers a period of about 300 years.
The scope of the book progressively and consistently narrows. The selection of content included in Genesis points to the purpose of the divine author: to reveal the history of and basic principles involved in God's relationship with people.7
Genesis provides the historical basis for the rest of the Bible and the Pentateuch, particularly the Abrahamic Covenant. Chapters 1-11 give historical background essential to understanding that covenant, and chapters 12-50 record the covenant and its initial outworking. The Abrahamic Covenant continues to be the basic arrangement by which God operates in dealing with humanity throughout the Pentateuch and the rest of the Bible.
"The real theme of the Pentateuch is the selection of Israel from the nations and its consecration to the service of God and His Laws in a divinely appointed land. The central event in the development of this theme is the divine covenant with Abraham and its . . . promise to make his offspring into the people of God and to give them the land of Canaan as an everlasting inheritance."8
Genesis provides an indispensable prologue to the drama that unfolds in Exodus and the rest of the Pentateuch. The first 11 chapters constitute a prologue to the prologue.
"Two opposite progressions appear in this prologue [chs. 1-11]: (a) God's orderly Creation with its climax in His blessing of man, and (b) the totally disintegrating work of sin with its two greatest curses being the Flood and the dispersion at Babel.9The first progression demonstrates God's plan to bring about perfect order from the beginning in spite of what the reader may know of man's experience. The second progression demonstrates the great need of God's intervention to provide the solution for the corrupt human race."10
"The subject matter of the theology in Genesis is certainly God's work in establishing Israel as the means of blessing the families of the earth. This book forms the introduction to the Pentateuch's main theme of the founding of the theocracy, that is, the rule of God over all Creation. It presents the origins behind the founding of the theocracy: the promised blessing that Abraham's descendants would be in the land.
"Exodus presents the redemption of the seed out of bondage and the granting of a covenant to them. Leviticus is the manual of ordinances enabling the holy God to dwell among His people by making them holy. Numbers records the military arrangement and census of the tribes in the wilderness, and shows how God preserves His promised blessings from internal and external threats. Deuteronomy presents the renewal of the covenant.
"In the unfolding of this grand program of God, Genesis introduces the reader to the nature of God as the sovereign Lord over the universe who will move heaven and earth to establish His will. He seeks to bless mankind, but does not tolerate disobedience and unbelief. Throughout this revelation the reader learns that without faith it is impossible to please God' (Heb. 11:6)."11
The message of the Bible might be the best place to begin our study of the Old Testament. What is the Bible all about? We could state it as follows: God desires to glorify Himself by blessing humankind.
The message of the Pentateuch (Torah) is that people can experience God's blessing by trusting Him (believing His word) and by obeying Him (following His initiative).
Genesis is in the Bible primarily to teach us this lesson. People can enjoy a personal relationship with God and thereby realize their own fulfillment as human beings only through trust in God and obedience to God. This is the message statement. Genesis reveals that God is faithful to His promises and powerful enough to bring them to fulfillment.
Genesis reveals that God originally intended people to have an immediate relationship with their Creator. Evidences for this are as follows.
1. God made man as a special creation (2:7).
2. He made man with special care (2:7).
3. He made man in His own image (1:26-27).
4. He regarded man as His son (1:28-30).
5. He consistently demonstrated concern for man's welfare (3:9).
God's immediate relationship with Adam was broken by the Fall (ch. 3). In the Fall man did two things.
1. He failed to trust God's goodness with his mind.
2. He rebelled against God's government with his will (3:6).
God then took the initiative to re-establish the relationship with man that He had created man to enjoy. He provided a covering for man's sin until He would finally remove it. This temporary covering came through the sacrificial system.
Throughout Genesis we see that people in general consistently failed to trust and obey God (e.g., in Noah's day, at Babel, in the patriarchal period).
Genesis also records what God has done to encourage people to trust and obey Him. It is only by living by these two principles that people can enjoy a relationship with God and realize all that God created them to experience.
On the one hand, Genesis reveals much about the person and work of God. This revelation helps us trust and obey Him. It is through His personal revelations to the main characters in Genesis that God revealed Himself initially (e.g., Adam and Eve, Noah, the patriarchs).
On the other hand, Genesis reveals much about the nature of man. Not only did God reveal the perversity of man, but He also identified positive examples of faith and obedience in the lives of the godly.
In Genesis we learn that faith in God is absolutely essential if we are to have fellowship with Him and realize our potential as human beings.
Faith is the law of life. If one lives by faith he flourishes, but if he does not, he fails. The four patriarchs are primarily examples of what faith is and how it manifests itself. In each of their lives we learn something new about faith.
Abraham's faith demonstrates unquestioning obedience. When God told him to do something, he did it. This is the most basic characteristic of faith. That is one reason why Abraham is "the father of the faithful."God revealed Himself nine times to Abraham and each time Abraham's response was unquestioning obedience.
Isaac's faith helps us see the quality of passive acceptance that characterizes true faith in God. This was his response to God's two revelations to him.
Jacob's story is one of conflict with God until he came to realize his own limitations. Then he trusted God. We can see his faith in his acknowledged dependence on God. God's seven revelations to him eventually led him to this position.
Joseph's life teaches us what God can do with a person who trusts Him consistently in the face of adversity. The outstanding characteristic of Joseph's life was his faithful loyalty to God. He believed God's two revelations to him in dreams even though God's will did not seem to be working out as he thought it would. Patient faith and its reward shine through the story of Joseph.
Faith, the key concept in Genesis, means trusting that what God has prescribed is indeed best for me and waiting for God to provide what He has promised. A person of faith is one who commits to acting on this basis even though he or she may not see how it is best.
The Pentateuch is all about God, man, and our relationship. In our study of it, we will be building a model to show how each new book builds on what has preceded. The key concept in Genesis is faith.
The structure of Genesis is very clear. The phrase "the generations of"(toledotin Hebrew, from yaladmeaning "to bear, to generate") occurs ten times (really eleven times since 36:9 repeats 36:1), and in each case it introduces a new section of the book.13The first part of Genesis is introductory and sets the scene for what follows. An outline of Genesis based on this structure is as follows.
1. Introduction 1:1-2:3
2. The generations of heaven and earth 2:4-4:26
3. The generations of Adam 5:1-6:8
4. The generations of Noah 6:9-9:29
5. The generations of the sons of Noah 10:1-11:9
6. The generations of Shem 11:10-26
7. The generations of Terah 11:27-25:11
8. The generations of Ishmael 25:12-18
9. The generations of Isaac 25:19-35:29
10. The generations of Esau 36:1-43
11. The generations of Jacob 37:1-50:26
A full expository outline designed to highlight the relative emphases of the book follows. We shall follow this outline in these notes as we seek to unpack the message of the book.
I. Primeval events 1:1-11:26
A. The story of creation 1:1-2:3
1. An initial statement of creation 1:1
2. Conditions at the time of creation 1:2
3. The six days of creation 1:3-31
4. The seventh day 2:1-3
B. What became of the creation 2:4-4:26
1. The garden of Eden 2:4-3:24
2. The murder of Abel 4:1-16
3. The spread of civilization and sin 4:17-26
C. What became of Adam 5:1-6:8
1. The effects of the curse on humanity ch. 5
2. God's sorrow over man's wickedness 6:1-8
D. What became of Noah 6:9-9:29
1. The Flood 6:9-8:22
2. The Noahic Covenant 9:1-17
3. The curse on Canaan 9:18-29
E. What became of Noah's sons 10:1-11:9
1. The table of nations ch. 10
2. The dispersion at Babel 11:1-9
F. What became of Shem 11:10-26
II. Patriarchal narratives 11:27-50:26
A. What became of Terah 11:27-25:11
1. Terah and Abraham's obedience 11:27-12:9
2. Abram in Egypt 12:10-20
3. Abram's separation from Lot ch. 13
4. Abram's military victory ch. 14
5. The Abrahamic covenant ch. 15
6. The birth of Ishmael ch. 16
7. The sign of circumcision ch. 17
8. Yahweh's visit to Abraham 18:1-15
9. Abraham's intercession for Lot 18:16-33
10. The destruction of Sodom ch. 19
11. Abraham's sojourn at Gerar ch. 20
12. The birth of Isaac 21:1-21
13. Abimelech's treaty with Abraham 21:22-34
14. The sacrifice of Isaac 22:1-19
15. The descendants of Nahor 22:20-24
16. The purchase of Sarah's tomb ch. 23
17. The choice of a bride for Isaac ch. 24
18. Abraham's death 25:1-11
B. What became of Ishmael 25:12-18
C. What became of Isaac 25:19-35:29
1. Isaac's twin sons 25:19-26
2. The sale of the birthright 25:27-34
3. Isaac and Abimelech 26:1-11
4. Isaac's wells 26:12-33
5. Jacob's deception for Isaac's blessing 26:34-28:9
6. Jacob's vision at Bethel 28:10-22
7. Jacob's marriages and Laban's deception 29:1-30
8. Jacob's mishandling of God's blessings 29:31-30:24
9. Jacob's new contract with Laban 30:25-43
10. Jacob's flight from Haran ch. 31
11. Jacob's attempt to appease Esau 32:1-21
12. Jacob at the Jabbok 32:22-32
13. Jacob's meeting with Esau and his return to Canaan ch. 33
14. The rape of Dinah and the revenge of Simeon and Levi ch. 34
15. Jacob's return to Bethel ch. 35
D. What became of Esau 36:1-37:1
E. What became of Jacob 37:2-50:26
1. God's choice of Joseph 37:2-11
2. The sale of Joseph into Egypt 37:12-36
3. Judah and Tamar ch. 38
4. Joseph in Potiphar's house ch. 39
5. The prisoners' dreams and Joseph's interpretations ch. 40
6. Pharaoh's dreams and Joseph's interpretation ch. 41
7. Joseph's brothers' first journey into Egypt ch. 42
8. Joseph's brothers' second journey into Egypt ch. 43
9. Joseph's last test and its results ch. 44
10. Joseph's reconciliation with his brothers 45:1-15
11. Israel's move to Egypt 45:16-46:30
12. Joseph's wise leadership 46:31-47:27
13. Jacob's worship in Egypt 47:28-48:22
14. Jacob's blessing of his sons 49:1-28
15. Deaths and a promise yet to be fulfilled 49:29-50:2614
