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Genesis: An In-Depth Introduction

Understanding Genesis is crucial for understanding the whole Bible. This in-depth guide will provide you a solid foundation for digging deep into the first book of the Bible.

If you open your Bible to the first page, you will find the book of Genesis. It’s the first book in the Bible as well as the first book of the Pentateuch.

As the first book of the Bible, Genesis is an important book to study. In many ways, it sets the foundation for the rest of the Bible. For example, in the first few chapters we meet the main characters: God and humans. We also encounter the central conflict in the whole Bible: human rebellion against God. And we learn that God has a plan to make everything right again.

What you'll find in this article...

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THE NAME

COMPOSITION

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The Name of the Book

Genesis is the transliteration of the Greek word γενεσις. It means “origin.”

The Hebrew name of the book is בראשׁית which is also the first word in Genesis and is translated as “In the beginning…”

The Book's Composition

According to tradition, Moses wrote Genesis along with the rest of the Pentateuch. If you open a commentary on the Bible, however, you will quickly discover that most modern Bible scholars no longer hold that opinion.

Instead, the most common opinion is that Genesis is the result of a long series of oral traditions that were written down and edited over the course of many generations. While some scholars maintain that Moses played a role and perhaps a major role in that process, most recognize that Genesis has a complicated origin story on its own. If you’d like to dive deeper into this topic, check out some of the resources listed at the end of this article.

Historical Background

The Bible is a collection of ancient documents. If we want to understand it, we need to learn more about its historical setting. The historical background of Genesis presents us with some exciting topics to explore. Here are two quick examples:

First, archaeologists discovered ancient Mesopotamian stories that are remarkably similar to the creation and flood accounts in Genesis. The Atra-Ḫasis Epic and the Epic of Gilgamesh are two examples of these creation and flood accounts.

Second, the covenant God makes with Abram (later Abraham) in Genesis 12 finds many similarities with other ancient treaty ceremonies.

If you want to explore the historical background of Genesis in greater depth, check out the resources I list below.

The Structure of the Book

We can look at the structure of Genesis in two different ways.

First, we can see that the book divides into two uneven sections. Genesis 1-11, sometimes called the Primeval history, tells the story of the world from the creation to the flood. It covers thousands of years. Genesis 12-50 slows down and tells the story of Abraham’s family. Instead of several thousand years, the final 38 chapters of Genesis cover around 200 years.

Second, we can look at the structure of Genesis through a phrase that appears 10 times in the book: “these are the generations.” This phrase comes from the Hebrew word “toledoth.”

The Toledoth of Heaven and Earth (Gen 2:4)
The Toledoth of Adam (Gen 5:1)
The Toledoth of Noah (Gen 6:9)
The Toledoth of Shem, Ham, Japheth (Gen 10:1)
The Toledoth of Shem, (Gen 11:10)
The Toledoth of Terah, (Gen 11:27)
The Toledoth of Ishmael, (Gen 25:12)
The Toledoth of Isaac, (Gen 25:19)
The Toledoth of Esau (Gen 36:1)
The Toledoth of Jacob (Gen 37:1)

If you’d like to learn a little more about the toledoth in Genesis, read this article by Peter Leithart.

The Book's Purpose

The purpose of Genesis is found in its name: to tell origin stories. Genesis tells the story of the origin of creation, sin, and the family of God.

In the opening chapters, we learn that God made creation good and formed humans in His image. Unfortunately, we also discover the origin of sin. Not only do Adam and Eve rebel against God, but Cain kills his brother, Lamech kills a stranger, and everything becomes so corrupt that God destroys the earth with a flood.

Most importantly, Genesis recounts the origin of the family of God. The book describes how God established His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The covenant relationship forms the backbone of the rest of the Bible. God binds Himself to humanity and promises to undo the harmful effects of sin.

In addition to these origin stories, Genesis sets the stage for Exodus through Deuteronomy. The final section of the book tells the story of Joseph and his brothers. Genesis 36-50 describe how the Israelites ended up in Egypt.

Major Themes

The covenant is the major theme in the book of Genesis. God establishes his relationship with Abraham in Genesis 12 and he re-establishes it with each generation that follows.

God’s covenant with Abraham has two major components. First, God promises to make Abraham into a great nation. He famously promises Abraham that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the sky (Gen 15:5). Many of the stories in the book deal with this issue. The wives repeatedly have difficulty giving birth and the young men are frequently put in dangerous situations that threaten the family line.

The second major component of the covenant is about the land. God promises to give the land of Canaan to Abraham’s descendants forever. Many of the stories deal with the issue of the land. In fact, the book ends with the people completely outside of the land of Canaan. This ending leaves the reader wondering how God intends to fulfill His covenant with Abraham and his descendants.

Important Questions

As you can see, Genesis is a fascinating book. It’s also a challenging book. If we want to understand it well, we need to ask questions. Here are a few questions I think are important for studying Genesis. If you want to look deeper into any of these questions, check out some of the recommended resources below.

What kind of literature is the book of Genesis?

What is the relationship between Genesis 1-11 and other ancient Near Eastern stories?

What is the covenant?

How did we get the book of Genesis (e.g. who wrote it? how did they write it? etc.)?

Recommended Resources

You can find an unending supply of resources on the book of Genesis. Use this list as a starting point for issues you'd like to research more.

***Please note, some of these are Amazon affiliate links. This just means Amazon gives me a small kickback from any of the resources you purchase.***

Introductions

Collins, John J. Introduction to the Hebrew Bible. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2018. (https://amzn.to/3TAEKQl)

Hill, Andrew E., and John H. Walton. A Survey of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2000. (https://amzn.to/3GoM8Lx)

Hoffmeier, James Karl, Gordon J. Wenham, Kenton L. Sparks, and Charles Halton. Genesis: History, Fiction, or Neither?: Three Views on the Bible’s Earliest Chapters. Edited by Charles Halton. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2015. (https://amzn.to/3tS6GEZ)

Commentaries

Arnold, Bill T. Genesis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009. (https://amzn.to/3OacToN)

Blenkinsopp, Joseph. Creation, Un-Creation, Re-Creation: A Discursive Commentary on Genesis 1-11. New York: Continuum, 2011. (https://amzn.to/3TBtx1H)

Brueggemann, Walter. Genesis: a Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1982. (https://amzn.to/3UItYst)

Goldingay, John. Genesis. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2020. (https://amzn.to/3Oc5Dcj)

Hamilton, Victor P. The Book of Genesis. 2 Volumes. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 1995. (https://amzn.to/3tA9uq0 https://amzn.to/3EdKARL)

Sarna, Nahum M. Genesis: The Traditional Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1989. (https://amzn.to/3Uz8MFj)

Waltke, Bruce K., and Cathi J. Fredricks. Genesis: A Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2001. (https://amzn.to/3V2df3i)

Browse the list at https://bestcommentaries.com/

Theology of Genesis

Clines, D. J. A. The Theme of the Pentateuch. JSOTSS 10. Sheffield, England: JSOT Press, 1979. (https://amzn.to/3UF6qVj)

Moberly, R. W. L. The Theology of the Book of Genesis. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2009. (https://amzn.to/3AlR67X)

VanGemeren, Willem. The Progress of Redemption. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1988. (https://amzn.to/3UYsXMH)

Genesis and the Ancient Near East

Hays, C. B. 2014. Hidden Riches: A Sourcebook for the Comparative Study of the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near East. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox. (https://amzn.to/3tx05zq)

Sparks, K. L. 2005. Ancient Texts for the Study of the Hebrew Bible: A Guide to the Background Literature. Peabody: Hendrickson.(https://amzn.to/3EAXYRn)

Walton, John H. Ancient Israelite Literature in Its Cultural Context. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994. (https://amzn.to/3EbeC8L)

Walton, John H., Victor Matthews, and Mark Chavalas. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000. (https://amzn.to/3UZ7LWL)

The Lost World, Walton Series (https://amzn.to/3ggzDa9 https://amzn.to/3Ak2zVv https://amzn.to/3g7AhqD)

Authorship of Genesis

***This is a popular question and one that deserves careful consideration. I've tried to list sources from multiple perspectives. Warning, some of the following books and resources can get quite academic. However, if you want to dive deep into the subject, they represent some important works.***

Mackie, Tim. "Making of the Bible," https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaqKzYJ151Y

Longman, Tremper. "Who Wrote Genesis?" https://zondervanacademic.com/blog/who-wrote-genesis

Carr, D. M. 2011. The Formation of the Hebrew Bible: A New Reconstruction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (https://amzn.to/3TCGtV7)

Schmid, K. 2012. The Old Testament: A Literary History. Translated by L. M. Maloney. Minneapolis: Fortress. (https://amzn.to/3UWFro4)

Wellhausen, J. Prolegomena to the History of Ancient Israel. 1878. Meridian, 1957. (https://amzn.to/3txu4XQ)