Editing Book of Genesis

{{short description|First book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament}}
{{redirect|The Book of Genesis|the comic|The Book of Genesis (comic){{!}}''The Book of Genesis'' (comic)}}
{{Tanakh OT |Torah |Pentateuch}}

The '''Book of Genesis''' (from [[Greek language|Greek]] {{Langx|grc|Γένεσις|Génesis|label=none}}; {{langx|hbo|{{Script/Hebrew|בְּרֵאשִׁית}}|Bərēʾšīṯ|In [the] beginning}}; {{langx|la|Liber Genesis}}) is the first book of the [[Hebrew Bible]] and the Christian [[Old Testament]].{{sfn|Hamilton|1990|p=1}} Its Hebrew name is the same as its [[incipit|first word]], {{transliteration|hbo|Bereshit}} ([[In the beginning (phrase)|'In the beginning']]). Genesis purports to be an account of the [[Genesis creation narrative|creation of the world]], the early history of humanity, and the [[Jews#Origins|origins of the Jewish people]].{{sfn|Sweeney|2012|p=657}}

Genesis is part of the [[Torah]] or Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. Tradition credits [[Moses]] as the Torah's author. It was probably composed around the 5th century&nbsp;BC,<ref>{{cite book |last=Oliver |first=Simon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FQjTDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA12 |title=Creation |date=2017 |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=9780567656117 |page=12}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-20 |title=Genesis {{!}} Creation, Covenant & Patriarchs {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Genesis-Old-Testament |access-date=2025-05-01 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> and some authors even propose a date as late as c. 270 BC,{{sfn|Gmirkin|2006|p=240-245}} although a composition date prior to the Persian period{{Year needed|date=May 2025}} has also been argued on linguistic grounds. <ref>{{Cite book |last=Hendel |first=Ronald |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=urwdtQEACAAJ |title=How Old Is the Hebrew Bible?: A Linguistic, Textual, and Historical Study |last2=Joosten |first2=Jan |date=2018-11-20 |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |isbn=978-0-300-23488-6 |pages=81-82 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Rendsburg |first=Gary |author-link=Gary A. Rendsburg |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Redaction_of_Genesis.html?id=z9TYAAAAMAAJ |title=The Redaction of Genesis |date=1986 |publisher=Pennsylvania State University Press |isbn=978-0-931464-25-6 |pages= |language=en |chapter=THE DATE OF GENESIS}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hornkohl |first=Aaron D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TZswEQAAQBAJ |title=Diachronic Diversity in Classical Biblical Hebrew |date=2024-11-11 |publisher=Open Book Publishers |isbn=978-1-80511-437-6 |pages=37, 136, 201–202. |language=en}}</ref>

Based on the scientific interpretation of [[Archaeology|archaeological]], [[Genetics|genetic]], and linguistic evidence, mainstream biblical scholars consider the literal interpretation of Genesis to be primarily mythological rather than historical.

It is divisible into two parts, the [[primeval history]] (chapters 1–11) and the [[Patriarchal age|ancestral history]] (chapters 12–50).{{sfn|Bergant|2013|p=xii}} The primeval history sets out the author's concepts of the nature of the deity and of humankind's relationship with its maker: God creates a world which is good and fit for humans, but when man corrupts it with sin, God decides to destroy his creation, sparing only the righteous [[Noah]] and his family to re-establish the relationship between man and God.{{sfn|Bandstra|2008|p=35}} The ancestral history (chapters 12–50) tells of the prehistory of [[Israelites|Israel]], God's [[Jews as the chosen people|chosen people]].{{sfn|Bandstra|2008|p=78}} At God's command, Noah's descendant [[Abraham]] journeys from his birthplace (described as [[Ur of the Chaldeans]] and whose identification with [[Ur|Sumerian Ur]] is [[Ur#Identification with the Biblical Ur|tentative in modern scholarship]]) into the God-given land of [[Canaan]], where he dwells as a sojourner, as does his son [[Isaac]] and his grandson [[Jacob]]. Jacob's name is changed to "Israel", and through the agency of his son [[Joseph (son of Jacob)|Joseph]], the [[children of Israel]] descend into Egypt, 70 people in all with their households, and God promises them a future of greatness. Genesis ends with Israel in Egypt, ready for the coming of Moses and the [[The Exodus|Exodus]] (departure). The narrative is punctuated by a series of [[Covenant (biblical)|covenants]] with God, successively narrowing in scope from all humankind (the [[covenant with Noah]]) to a special relationship with one people alone (Abraham and his descendants through Isaac and Jacob).{{Sfn|Bandstra|2004|pp=28–29}}

In [[Judaism]], the theological importance of Genesis centres on the covenants linking [[God in Judaism|God]] to his chosen people and the people to the [[Promised Land]].

== Title ==
[[File:Lieber des Ghetto 18.jpg|thumb|''The Creation of Man'' by [[Ephraim Moses Lilien]], 1903.]]
The name ''Genesis'' is from the Latin [[Vulgate]], in turn borrowed or transliterated from [[Greek language|Greek]] {{Lang|grc|Γένεσις}}, meaning 'origin'; {{langx|hbo|בְּרֵאשִׁית|Bərēʾšīṯ}}, 'In [the] beginning'.{{sfn|Carr|2000|p=491}}

== Composition ==
{{Main|Composition of the Torah}}

Genesis was written anonymously, but both Jewish and Christian religious tradition attributes the entire [[Pentateuch]]—Genesis, [[Book of Exodus|Exodus]], [[Leviticus]], [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] and [[Deuteronomy]]—to [[Moses]]. During the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]], the philosophers [[Benedict Spinoza]] and [[Thomas Hobbes]] questioned [[Mosaic authorship]]. In the 17th century, [[Richard Simon (priest)|Richard Simon]] proposed that the Pentateuch was written by multiple authors over a long period of time.{{sfn|Van Seters|1998|p=5}} The involvement of multiple authors is suggested by internal contradictions within the text. For example, Genesis includes [[Genesis creation narrative|two creation narratives]].{{Sfn|Longman|2005|pp=47–48}}

At the end of the 19th century, most scholars adopted the [[documentary hypothesis]].{{Sfn|Davies|1998|p=19}} This theory held that the five books of the Pentateuch came from four sources: the [[Yahwist]] (abbreviated as J), the [[Elohist]] (E), the [[Deuteronomist]] (D) and the [[Priestly source]] (P). Each source was held to tell the same basic story, with the sources later combined by various editors.{{sfn|Gooder|2000|pp=12–14}} Scholars were able to distinguish sources based on the designations for God. For example, the Yahwist source uses Yahweh, while the Elohistic and Priestly sources use Elohim.{{sfn|Van Seters|1998|p=9}} Scholars also use repeated and duplicate stories to identify separate sources. In Genesis, these include the two creation stories, three different [[Wife–sister narratives in the Book of Genesis|wife–sister narratives]], and the two versions of [[Abraham]] sending [[Hagar]] and [[Ishmael]] into the desert.{{Sfn|Boadt|Clifford|Harrington|2012}}{{page needed|date=March 2024}}

According to the documentary hypothesis, J was produced during the 9th century BC in the southern [[Kingdom of Judah]] and was believed to be the earliest source. E was written in the [[northern Kingdom of Israel]] during the 8th century BC. D was written in Judah in the 7th century BC and associated with the [[Josiah#Religious reform|religious reforms of King Josiah]] {{circa|625 BC}}. The latest source was P, which was written during the 5th century in [[Babylon]]. Based on these dates, Genesis and the rest of the Pentateuch did not reach its final, present-day form until after the Babylonian Exile. [[Julius Wellhausen]] argued that the Pentateuch was finalized in the time of [[Ezra]]. [[Ezra 7]]:14 records that Ezra traveled from Babylon to Jerusalem in 458 BC with God's law in his hand. Wellhausen argued that this was the newly compiled Pentateuch. [[Nehemiah 8]]–[[Nehemiah 10|10]], according to Wellhausen, describes the publication and public acceptance of this new law code {{circa|444 BC}}.{{Sfn|Davies|1998|p=19}}{{sfn|Van Seters|1998|p=9}} There was now a large gap between the earliest sources of the Pentateuch and the period they claimed to describe, which ended {{circa|1200 BC}}.{{Sfn|Davies|1998|p=20}}

Most scholars held to the documentary hypothesis until the 1980s. Since then, a number of variations and revisions of the documentary hypothesis have been proposed.{{Sfn|Longman|2005|p=49}} The [[Supplementary hypothesis|new supplementary hypothesis]] posits three main sources for the Pentateuch: J, D, and P.{{sfn|Van Seters|1998|p=14}} The E source is considered no more than a variation of J, and P is considered a body of revisions and expansions to the J (or "non-Priestly") material. The Deuteronomistic source does not appear in Genesis.{{sfn|Van Seters|2004|pp=30–86}} More recent thinking is that J dates from either just before or during the Babylonian Exile, and the Priestly final edition was made late in the Exilic period or soon after.{{Sfn|Davies|1998|p=37}} Russell Gmirkin argues that Genesis was composed in the late 270s BC, drawing on Greek sources like [[Berossus]]' [[Babyloniaca (Berossus)|Babyloniaca]] and reflecting the political context of the [[Seleucid]] and [[Ptolemaic dynasty|Ptolemaic]] realms.{{sfn|Gmirkin|2006|pp=240–241}}

As for why the book was created, a theory which has gained considerable interest, although still controversial, is that of Persian imperial authorisation. This proposes that the Persians of the [[Achaemenid Empire]], after their conquest of Babylon in 539&nbsp;BC, agreed to grant Jerusalem a large measure of local autonomy within the empire, but required the local authorities to produce a single law code accepted by the entire community. The two powerful groups making up the community—the priestly families who controlled the [[Second Temple]] and who [[Myth of origins|traced their origin]] to Moses and the wilderness wanderings, and the major landowning families who made up the "elders" and who traced their own origins to Abraham, who had "given" them the land—were in conflict over many issues, and each had its own "history of origins". However, the Persian promise of greatly increased local autonomy for all provided a powerful incentive to cooperate in producing a single text.{{sfn|Ska|2006|pp=169, 217–218}}

== Genre ==
Genesis is an example of a work in the "antiquities" genre, as the Romans knew it, a popular genre telling of the appearance of humans and their ancestors and heroes, with elaborate genealogies and chronologies fleshed out with stories and anecdotes.{{sfn|Van Seters|2004|pp=113–114}} Notable examples are found in the work of Greek historians of the 6th century BC: their intention was to connect notable families of their own day to a distant and heroic past, and in doing so they did not distinguish between [[myth]], [[legend]], and facts.{{sfn|Whybray|2001|p=39}} Professor Jean-Louis Ska of the [[Pontifical Biblical Institute]] calls the basic rule of the antiquarian historian the "law of conservation": everything old is valuable, nothing is eliminated.{{sfn|Ska|2006|p=169}} This antiquity was needed to prove the worth of Israel's traditions to the nations (the neighbours of the Jews in the early Persian province of Judea), and to reconcile and unite the various factions within Israel itself.{{sfn|Ska|2006|p=169}}

Describing the work of the biblical authors, [[John Van Seters]] wrote that lacking many historical traditions and none from the distant past, "They had to use myths and legends for earlier periods. In order to make sense out of the variety of different and often conflicting versions of stories, and to relate the stories to each other, they fitted them into a genealogical chronology."{{Sfn|Van Seters|1998|pp=21–22}} [[Tremper Longman]] describes Genesis as theological history: "the fact that these events took place is assumed, and not argued. The concern of the text is not to prove the history but rather to impress the reader with the theological significance of these acts".{{Sfn|Longman|2005|p=62}}

==Textual variation==
{{See also|Textual variants in the Hebrew Bible#Book of Genesis}}
The original manuscripts are lost, and the text of surviving copies varies. There are four major groupings of surviving manuscripts: the [[Masoretic Text]], the [[Samaritan Pentateuch]] (in [[Samaritan script]]), the [[Septuagint]] (a Greek translation), and fragments of Genesis found in the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]]. The Dead Sea Scrolls are oldest but cover only a small portion of the book.{{Sfn|Hendel|1992|p=933}}

== Structure ==
Genesis appears to be structured around the recurring phrase {{transliteration|hbo|elleh toledot}}, meaning "these are the generations", with the first use of the phrase referring to the "generations of heaven and earth" and the remainder marking individuals.{{Sfn|Hamilton|1990|p=2}} The {{transliteration|hbo|[[toledot]]}} formula, occurring eleven times in the book of Genesis, serves as a heading which marks a transition to a new subject.{{Sfn|Schwartz|2016|p=1}} The {{transliteration|hbo|toledot}} divide the book into the following sections:{{Sfn|Arnold|1998|pp=17–18}}{{Sfn|Leithart|2017}}

# [[Genesis 1:1]]–2:3 [[In the beginning (phrase)|In the beginning]] (prologue)
# Genesis 2:4–4:26 {{transliteration|hbo|Toledot}} of Heaven and Earth (narrative)
# Genesis 5:1–6:8 {{transliteration|hbo|Toledot}} of [[Adam]] (genealogy, {{Crossreference|see [[Generations of Adam]]}})
# Genesis 6:9–9:29 {{transliteration|hbo|Toledot}} of [[Noah]] ([[Genesis flood narrative]])
# Genesis 10:1–11:9 {{transliteration|hbo|Toledot}} of Noah's sons [[Shem]], [[Ham (son of Noah)|Ham]], and [[Japheth]] (genealogy)
# Genesis 11:10–26 {{transliteration|hbo|Toledot}} of Shem (genealogy) 
# Genesis 11:27–25:11 {{transliteration|hbo|Toledot}} of [[Terah]] ([[Abraham]] narrative)
# Genesis 25:12–18 {{transliteration|hbo|Toledot}} of [[Ishmael]] (genealogy)
# Genesis 25:19–35:29 {{transliteration|hbo|Toledot}} of [[Isaac]] ([[Jacob]] narrative)
# Genesis 36:1–36:8 {{transliteration|hbo|Toledot}} of [[Esau]] (genealogy)
# Genesis 36:9–37:1 {{transliteration|hbo|Toledot}} of Esau "the father of the [[Edomites]]" (genealogy)
# Genesis 37:2–50:26 {{transliteration|hbo|Toledot}} of Jacob ([[Joseph (Genesis)|Joseph]] narrative)

It is not clear, however, what this meant to the original authors, and most modern commentators divide it into two parts based on the subject matter, a primeval history (chapters 1–11) and a patriarchal history (chapters 12–50).{{sfn|Whybray|2001|p=41}}{{efn|The [[Weekly Torah portion]]s, [[Parashot]], divide the book into 12 readings.}} While the first is far shorter than the second, it sets out the basic themes and provides an interpretive key for understanding the entire book.{{Sfn|McKeown|2008|p=2}} The primeval history has a symmetrical structure hinging on the flood story (chapters 6–9) with the events before the flood mirrored by the events after.{{Sfn|Walsh|2001|p=112}} The ancestral history is structured around the three patriarchs Abraham, Jacob and Joseph.{{sfn|Bergant|2013|p=45}} The stories of Isaac arguably do not make up a coherent cycle of stories and function as a bridge between the cycles of Abraham and Jacob.{{sfn|Bergant|2013|p=103}}

== Summary ==
===Primeval history (chapters 1–11)===
{{See also|Primeval history}}

[[File:Edward Hicks, American - Noah's Ark - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|''Noah's Ark'' (1846), by the American folk painter [[Edward Hicks]].]]

The [[Genesis creation narrative]] comprises two different stories; the first two chapters roughly correspond to these.{{efn|Speaking of the disunity of the Pentateuch, {{harvtxt|Baden|2019|p=14}} writes: "Two creation-stories of Genesis 1 and 2 provide the opening salvo. It is impossible to read them as a single unified narrative, as they disagree on almost every point, from the nature of the pre-creation world to the order of creation to the length of time creation took."}} In the first, [[Elohim]], the generic Hebrew word for God, creates the heavens and the earth including humankind, in six days, and [[Sabbath#Biblical Sabbath|rests on the seventh]]. In the second, God, now referred to as "[[Yahweh]] Elohim" (rendered as "the {{LORD}} God" in English translations), creates two individuals, [[Adam and Eve]], as the first man and woman, and places them in the [[Garden of Eden]].

In the second chapter, God commanded the man that he is free to eat from any tree, including the tree of life, except from the [[tree of the knowledge of good and evil]]. Later, in chapter 3, a [[Serpent (Bible)|serpent]], portrayed as a deceptive creature or [[trickster]], convinces Eve to eat the fruit. She then convinces Adam to eat it, whereupon God throws them out and punishes them—Adam was punished with getting what he needs only by sweat and work, and Eve to giving birth in pain. This is interpreted by Christians as the "[[fall of man]]" [[original sin|into sin]]. Eve bears two sons, [[Cain and Abel]]. Cain works in the garden, and Abel works with meat; they both offer offerings to God one day, and God does not accept Cain's offering but does accept Abel's. This causes Cain to resent Abel, and Cain ends up murdering him. God then [[Curse and mark of Cain|curses Cain]]. Eve bears another son, [[Seth]], to take Abel's place in accordance to the promises given at 3:15, 20.{{Sfn|Mathews|1996|p=290}}{{sfn|Hamilton|1990|p=242}}

After many [[generations of Adam]] have passed from the lines of Cain and Seth, the world becomes corrupted by human [[sin]] and [[Nephilim]], and God wants to wipe out humanity for their wickedness. However, [[Noah]] is righteous and blameless. So first, he instructs Noah to build an [[Noah's ark|ark]] and put examples of all the animals on it, seven pairs of every clean animal and one pair of every unclean. Then God sends a [[Genesis flood narrative|great flood]] to wipe out the rest of the world. When the waters recede, God promises he will never destroy the world with water again, making a [[Rainbows in mythology|rainbow as a symbol of his promise]]. God sees humankind cooperating to build a great tower city, the [[Tower of Babel]], and divides humanity with many languages and sets them apart with confusion. Then, a generation line from [[Shem]] to [[Abram]] is described.

===Patriarchal age (chapters 12–50)===
{{See also|Patriarchal age}}
[[File:Molnár Ábrahám kiköltözése 1850.jpg|thumb|right|''Abram's Journey from [[Ur Kaśdim|Ur]] to [[Canaan]]'' ([[József Molnár (painter)|József Molnár]], 1850)]]

Abram, a man descended from Noah, is instructed by God to travel from his home in [[Mesopotamia]] to the land of [[Canaan]]. There, God makes a promise to Abram, promising that his descendants shall be as numerous as the stars, but that people will suffer oppression in a foreign land for four hundred years, after which they will inherit the land "from the [[river of Egypt]] to the great river, the river [[Euphrates]]". Abram's name is changed to 'Abraham' and that of his wife Sarai to [[Sarah]] (meaning 'princess'), and God says that all males should be [[circumcised]] as a sign of his promise to Abraham. Due to her old age, Sarah tells Abraham to take her Egyptian handmaiden, [[Hagar]], as a second wife (to bear a child). Through Hagar, Abraham fathers [[Ishmael]].

God then plans to destroy the cities of [[Sodom and Gomorrah]] for the sins of their people. Abraham protests, but fails to get God to agree not to destroy the cities (reasoning with Abraham that not even ten righteous persons were found there; and among the righteous was Abraham's nephew [[Lot (biblical person)|Lot]]). Angels save Abraham's nephew Lot (who was living there at the same time) and his family, but [[Lot's wife|his wife]] looks back on the destruction, (even though God commanded not to) and turns into a pillar of salt for going against his word. Lot's daughters, concerned that they are fugitives who will never find husbands, get Lot drunk so they can become pregnant by him, and give birth to the ancestors of the [[Moab]]ites and [[Ammon]]ites.

Abraham and Sarah go to the Philistine town of [[Gerar]], pretending to be brother and sister (they are half-siblings). The King of Gerar takes Sarah for his wife, but God warns him to return her (as she is really Abraham's wife) and he obeys. God sends Sarah a son and tells her she should name him [[Isaac]]; through him will be the establishment of the covenant (promise). Sarah then drives Ishmael and his mother Hagar out into the wilderness (because Ishmael is not her real son and Hagar is a slave), but God saves them and promises to make Ishmael a great nation.

[[File:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 035.jpg|thumb|upright|''The Angel Hinders the Offering of Isaac'' ([[Rembrandt]], 1635)]]

Then, God tests Abraham by demanding that he [[sacrifice Isaac]]. As Abraham is about to lay the knife upon his son, "the Angel of the Lord" restrains him, promising him again innumerable descendants. On the death of Sarah, Abraham purchases [[Machpelah]] (believed to be modern [[Hebron]]) for a family tomb and sends his servant to Mesopotamia to find among his relations a wife for Isaac; after proving herself worthy, Rebekah becomes Isaac's betrothed. [[Keturah]], Abraham's other wife, births more children, among whose descendants are the [[Midian]]ites. Abraham dies at a prosperous old age and his family lays him to rest in Hebron (Machpelah).

[[File:Foster Bible Pictures 0047-1 Jacob Flees Laban.jpg|thumb|''Jacob flees Laban'' by Charles Foster, 1897.]]

Isaac's wife [[Rebekah]] gives birth to the twins [[Esau]] (meaning 'velvet'), father of the [[Edom]]ites, and [[Jacob]] (meaning 'supplanter' or 'follower'). Esau was a couple of seconds older as he had come out of the womb first, and was going to become the heir; however, through carelessness, he sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew. His mother, Rebekah, ensures Jacob rightly gains his father's blessing as the firstborn son and inheritor. At 77 years of age, Jacob leaves his parents and later seeks a wife and meets Rachel at a well. He goes to her father, [[Laban (Bible)|his uncle]], where he works for a total of 14 years to earn his wives, [[Rachel]] and [[Leah]]. Jacob's name is changed to Israel after [[Jacob wrestling with the angel|his wrestle with an angel]], and by his wives and their handmaidens he has twelve sons, the ancestors of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel, and a daughter, [[Dinah]].

Shechem, son of Hamor the Hivite, rapes Dinah and asks his father to get Dinah for him as his wife, according to Chapter 34. Jacob agrees to the marriage but requires that all the males of Hamor's tribe be circumcised, including Hamor and Shechem. After this was performed and all the men were still weak, Jacob's sons Simeon and Levi murdered all the males. Jacob complained that their act would mean retribution by others, namely the Canaanites and Perizzites. Jacob and his tribe took all the Hivite women and children as well as livestock and other property for themselves.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Book of Bereishit (Genesis): Chapter 34 |work=Jewish Virtual Library |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/bereishit-genesis-chapter-34 |access-date=December 12, 2023}}</ref>

[[Joseph (son of Jacob)|Joseph]], Jacob's favourite son of the twelve, makes his brothers jealous (especially because of special gifts Jacob gave him) and because of that jealousy they sell Joseph into slavery in [[Egypt]]. Joseph endures many trials including being innocently sentenced to jail but he stays faithful to God. After several years, he prospers there after the [[pharaoh]] of Egypt asks him to interpret a dream he had about an upcoming famine, which Joseph does through God. He is then made second in command of Egypt by the grateful pharaoh, and later on, he is reunited with his father and brothers, who fail to recognize him and plead for food as the famine had reached Canaan as well. After much manipulation to see if they still hate him, Joseph reveals himself, forgives them for their actions, and lets them and their households into Egypt, where Pharaoh assigns to them the [[land of Goshen]]. Jacob calls his sons to his bedside and [[Blessing of Jacob|reveals their future]] before he dies. Joseph lives to old age and tells his brothers before his death that if God leads them out of the country, then they should take his bones with them.

== Themes ==
[[File:Bourgeois Joseph recognized by his brothers.jpg|thumb|right|''Joseph Recognized by His Brothers'' (Léon Pierre Urban Bourgeois, 1863)]]

=== Promises to the ancestors ===
In 1978, [[David Clines]] published ''The Theme of the Pentateuch''. Considered influential as one of the first authors to take up the question of the overarching theme of the Pentateuch, Clines' conclusion was that the overall theme is "the partial fulfilment—which implies also the partial nonfulfillment—of the promise to or blessing of the Patriarchs". (By calling the fulfilment "partial", Clines was drawing attention to the fact that at the end of Deuteronomy the people of Israel are still outside Canaan.){{Sfn|Clines|1997|p=30}}

The [[Patriarchs (Bible)|patriarchs]], or ancestors, are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, with their wives (Joseph is normally excluded).{{Sfn|Hamilton|1990|p=50}} Since the name YHWH had not been revealed to them, they worshipped El in his various manifestations.{{Sfn|Collins|2007|p=47}} (It is, however, worth noting that in the Jahwist source, the patriarchs refer to deity by the name YHWH, for example in Genesis 15.) Through the patriarchs, God announces the election of Israel, that is, he chooses Israel to be his special people and commits himself to their future.{{Sfn|Brueggemann|2002|p=61}} God tells the patriarchs that he will be faithful to their descendants (i.e. to Israel), and Israel is expected to have faith in God and his promise. ("Faith" in the context of Genesis and the Hebrew Bible means an agreement to the promissory relationship, not a body of a belief.){{Sfn|Brueggemann|2002|p=78}}

The promise itself has three parts: offspring, blessings, and land.{{Sfn|McKeown|2008|p=4}} The fulfilment of the promise to each patriarch depends on having a male heir, and the story is constantly complicated by the fact that each prospective mother—[[Sarah]], [[Rebekah]] and [[Rachel]]—is barren. The ancestors, however, retain their faith in God and God in each case gives a son—in Jacob's case, twelve sons, the foundation of the chosen [[Israelites]]. Each succeeding generation of the three promises attains a more rich fulfilment, until through Joseph "all the world" attains salvation from famine,{{Sfn|Wenham|2003|p=34}} and by bringing the children of Israel down to Egypt he becomes the means through which the promise can be fulfilled.{{Sfn|Hamilton|1990|p=50}}

=== God's chosen people ===
{{Further|Jews as the chosen people}}
Scholars generally agree that the theme of divine promise unites the patriarchal cycles, but many would dispute the efficacy of trying to examine Genesis' theology by pursuing a single overarching theme, instead citing as more productive the analysis of the Abraham cycle, the Jacob cycle, and the Joseph cycle, and the [[Yahwist]] and [[Priestly source]]s.{{Sfn|Hamilton|1990|pp=38–39}} The problem lies in finding a way to unite the patriarchal theme of the divine promise to the stories of Genesis 1–11 (the [[primeval history]]) with their theme of God's forgiveness in the face of man's evil nature.{{Sfn|Hendel|1992|p=935}}{{Sfn|Kugler|Hartin|2009|p=9}} One solution is to see the patriarchal stories as resulting from God's decision not to remain alienated from humankind:{{Sfn|Kugler|Hartin|2009|p=9}} God creates the world and humans, humans rebel, and God "elects" (chooses) Abraham.{{Sfn|Bandstra|2004|pp=28–29}}

To this basic plot (which comes from the Yahwist), the Priestly source has added a series of [[covenant (biblical)|covenants]] dividing history into stages, each with its own distinctive "sign". The [[Covenant (biblical)#Noahic covenant|first covenant]] is between God and all living creatures, and is marked by the sign of the rainbow; the second is with the descendants of Abraham (Isaac and Ishmael), and its sign is [[Brit milah|circumcision]]; and the last, which does not appear until the Book of Exodus, is with Israel alone, and its sign is [[Biblical Sabbath|Sabbath]]. A great leader mediates each covenant ([[Noah]], Abraham, Moses), and at each stage God progressively reveals himself by his name ([[Elohim]] with Noah, [[El Shaddai]] with Abraham, [[Yahweh]] with Moses).{{Sfn|Bandstra|2004|pp=28–29}}

===Deception===
{{Further|Trickster}}

Throughout Genesis, various figures engage in deception or trickery to survive or prosper. Biblical scholar [[David M. Carr]] notes that such stories reflect the vulnerability felt by ancient Israelites and that "such stories can be a major way of gaining hope and resisting domination". Examples include:{{Sfn|Carr|2021|pp=50–51}}
*To avoid being killed, a patriarch (Abraham in 12:10–20 and 20:1–18 and Isaac in 26:6–11) tells a king that his [[Wife–sister narratives in the Book of Genesis|wife is only his sister and not also his wife]]. (Genesis 12:11-13 and Genesis 20:11-12)
*In chapter 25, Jacob tricks Esau into selling his birthright for a pot of lentil stew.
*In chapter 27, Isaac is tricked by Rebekah into giving Jacob the superior blessing instead of Esau.
*In chapter 29, Jacob believes he is marrying Rachel but is tricked into marrying her sister.

== Cultural impact ==
{{More footnotes needed|section|date=May 2024}}

By totaling the spans of time in the genealogies of Genesis, religious authorities have calculated what they consider to be the age of the world since creation. This ''[[Anno Mundi]]'' system of counting years is the basis of the [[Hebrew calendar]] and [[Byzantine calendar]]. Counts differ somewhat, but they generally place the age of the Earth at about six thousand years.

During the [[Protestant Reformation]], rivalry between Catholic and Protestant Christians led to a closer study of the Bible and a competition to take its words more seriously. Thus, scholars in Europe from the 16th to the 19th century treated the book of Genesis as factual. As evidence in the fields of [[paleontology]], [[geology]] and other sciences was uncovered, scholars tried to fit these discoveries into the Genesis creation account.{{Sfn|Gohau|1990|pp=47–51}} For example, [[Johann Jakob Scheuchzer]] in the 18th century believed that [[fossils]] were the remains of creatures killed during the flood. This literal understanding of Genesis fell out of favor with scholars during the [[Victorian era|Victorian]] crisis of faith as evidence mounted that the [[Age of Earth|Earth was far older]] than six thousand years.

== Judaism's weekly Torah portions ==
It is a custom among religious Jewish communities for a [[weekly Torah portion]], popularly referred to as a {{transliteration|he|[[parashah]]}}, to be read during [[Jewish prayer]] services on Saturdays, Mondays and Thursdays. The full name, {{langx|he|פָּרָשַׁת הַשָּׁבוּעַ|Parashat ha-Shavua|label=none}}, is popularly abbreviated to {{transliteration|he|parashah}} (also {{transliteration|he|parshah}} {{IPAc-en|p|ɑː|r|ʃ|ə}} or {{transliteration|he|parsha}}), and is also known as a {{transliteration|he|[[Seder (Bible)|Sidra]]}} (or {{transliteration|he|Sedra}} {{IPAc-en|s|ɛ|d|r|ə}}).

The {{transliteration|he|parashah}} is a section of the [[Torah]] (Five Books of Moses) used in Jewish liturgy during a particular week. There are 54 weekly parshas, or {{transliteration|he|parashiyot}} in Hebrew, and the full cycle is read over the course of one Jewish year.

The first 12 of the 54 come from the Book of Genesis, and they are:
# Chapters 1–6 (verses 1–8) [[Bereishit (parsha)|Parashat Bereshit]]
# Chapters 6 (v. 9 ''ff'')–11 [[Noach (parsha)|Parashat Noach]]
# Chapters 12–17 [[Lech-Lecha (parsha)|Parashat Lekh Lekha]]
# Chapters 18–22 [[Vayeira (parsha)|Parashat Vayera]]
# Chapters 23–25 (v. 1–18) [[Chayei Sarah (parsha)|Parashat Chayyei Sarah]]
# Chapters 25 (v. 19 ''ff'')–28 (v. 1–9) [[Toledot (parsha)|Parashat Toledot]]
# Chapters 28 (v. 10 ''ff'')–32 (v. 1–3) [[Vayetze (parsha)|Parashat Vayetzei]]
# Chapters 32 (v. 4 ''ff'')–36 [[Vayishlach (parsha)|Parashat Vayishlach]]
# Chapters 37–40 [[Vayeshev (parsha)|Parashat Vayeshev]]
# Chapters 41–44 (v. 1–17) [[Miketz (parsha)|Parashat Miketz]]
# Chapters 44 (v. 18 ''ff'')–47 (v. 1–27) [[Vayigash (parsha)|Parashat Vayigash]]
# Chapters 47 (v. 28 ''ff'')–50 [[Vayechi|Parashat Vayechi]]

== See also ==
{{Portal|Bible}}
* [[Apollo 8 Genesis reading]] while in lunar orbit
* [[Biblical criticism]]
* [[Criticism of the Bible]]
* [[Dating the Bible]]
* {{transliteration|akk|[[Enûma Eliš]]}}
* [[Historicity of the Bible]]
* [[Interpretations of Genesis]]
* ''[[Paradise Lost]]''
* [[Protevangelium]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|20em}}

== Bibliography ==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Arnold |first=Bill T. |title=Encountering the Book of Genesis: A Study of Its Content and Issues |publisher=Baker Academic |series=Encountering Biblical Studies |year=1998 |place=Grand Rapids, Michigan, US |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZPclBQAAQBAJ |isbn=9781585585397}}
* {{cite book |last=Baden |first=Joel S. |title=The Book of Exodus: A Biography |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2019 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ofp1DwAAQBAJ |isbn=978-0-691-18927-7}}
* {{Cite book |last=Bandstra |first=Barry L |title=Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction to the Hebrew Bible |publisher=Wadsworth |year=2004 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vRY9mTUZKJcC&pg=PA489 |isbn=978-0-495-39105-0}}
* {{Cite book |last=Bandstra |first=Barry L. |title=Reading the Old Testament |publisher=Cengage Learning |year=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vRY9mTUZKJcC |isbn=978-0-495-39105-0}}
* {{Cite book |last=Bergant |first=Dianne |title=Genesis: In the Beginning |publisher=Liturgical Press |year=2013 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mRCwAQAAQBAJ |isbn=978-0-8146-8275-3}}
* {{cite book |last1=Boadt |first1=Lawrence |author-link1=Lawrence Boadt |last2=Clifford |first2=Richard J. |last3=Harrington |first3=Daniel J. |author-link3=Daniel J. Harrington |title=Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction |publisher=Paulist Press |series= |volume= |edition=2nd |year=2012 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wSpHAAAAQBAJ |isbn=9781616436704}}
* {{Cite book |last=Brueggemann |first=Walter |title=Reverberations of faith: A Theological Handbook of Old Testament themes |publisher=Westminster John Knox |year=2002 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dBJQ71RIpdMC |isbn=978-0-664-22231-4}}
* {{Cite book |last=Carr |first=David M. |chapter=Genesis, Book of |editor1-last=Freedman |editor1-first=David Noel |editor2-last=Myers |editor2-first=Allen C. |title=Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |year=2000 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B12qwOSMD20C |isbn=978-0-567-37287-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Carr |first=David M. |author-link=David M. Carr |title=The Hebrew Bible: A Contemporary Introduction to the Christian Old Testament and the Jewish Tanakh |publisher=Wiley Blackwell |edition=2nd |year=2021 |pages= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p08lEAAAQBAJ |isbn=9781119636670}}
* {{Cite book |last=Clines |first=David A |author-link=David J. A. Clines |title=The Theme of the Pentateuch |publisher=Sheffield Academic Press |year=1997 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z45ullcFRG8C |isbn=978-0-567-43196-7}}
* {{Cite book |last=Collins |first=John J. |title=A Short Introduction to the Hebrew Bible |publisher=Fortress Press |date=2007}}
* {{Cite book |last=Davies |first=G.I |chapter=Introduction to the Pentateuch |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3surkLVdw3UC&pg=PA12 |editor-first1=John |editor-last1=Barton |editor-first2=John |editor-last2=Muddiman |title=The Oxford Bible Commentary |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-19-875500-5 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordbiblecomme0000unse}}
* {{cite book |title=A History of Geology |first=Gabriel |last=Gohau |year=1990 |publisher=Rutgers University Press |isbn=978-0-8135-1666-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofgeology00goha/}}
* {{Cite book |last=Gooder |first=Paula |title=The Pentateuch: A Story of Beginnings |publisher=T&T Clark |year=2000 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=49XpvvO-Oq0C |isbn=978-0-567-08418-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Gmirkin |first=Russell E. |title=Berossus and Genesis, Manetho and Exodus |year=2006 |publisher=Bloomsbury |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CKuoAwAAQBAJ&q=composition+table+of+nations+genesis |isbn=978-0-567-13439-4}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hamilton |first=Victor P |title=The Book of Genesis: chapters 1–17 |publisher=Eerdmans |year=1990 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WW31E9Zt5-wC&pg=PR3 |isbn=978-0-8028-2521-6}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Hendel |first=R. S. |title=Genesis, Book of |encyclopedia=Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary |volume=2 |editor-last=Freedman |editor-first=D. N. |publisher=Doubleday |year=1992}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Kugler |first1=Robert |last2=Hartin |first2=Patrick |title=The Old Testament between Theology and History: A Critical Survey |publisher=Eerdmans |year=2009 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L8WbXbPjxpoC |isbn=978-0-8028-4636-5}}
* {{cite web |url=https://theopolisinstitute.com/toledoth-and-the-structure-of-genesis/ |title=Toledoth and the Structure of Genesis |last=Leithart |first=Peter |date=September 5, 2017 |website=theopolisinstitute.com |publisher=Theopolis Institute |access-date=March 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231205015959/https://theopolisinstitute.com/toledoth-and-the-structure-of-genesis/ |archive-date=December 5, 2023 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |last=Longman |first=Tremper |author-link=Tremper Longman |title=How to Read Genesis |publisher=InterVarsity Press |series=How to Read Series |year=2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SKEJ3kT7S2kC |isbn=9780830875603}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mathews |first=Kenneth A. |title=The New American Commentary: Genesis 1-11:26 Vol. 1A |publisher=B&H Publishing Group |year=1996 |isbn=9780805401011 |location=Nashville}}
* {{Cite book |last=McKeown |first=James |title=Genesis |publisher=Eerdmans |year=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-gqTTl1iPr8C |isbn=978-0-8028-2705-0}}
* {{cite journal |last=Schwartz |first=Sarah |title=Narrative ''Toledot'' Formulae in Genesis: The Case of Heaven and Earth, Noah, and Isaac |journal=Journal of Hebrew Scriptures |volume=16 |pages=1–36 |date=2016 |url=https://jhsonline.org/index.php/jhs/article/view/29359/21377 |doi=10.5508/jhs.2016.v16.a8 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021053532/http://www.jhsonline.org/Articles/article_220.pdf |archive-date=October 21, 2020 |url-status=live |doi-access=free}}
* {{Cite book |last=Ska |first=Jean-Louis |title=Introduction to Reading the Pentateuch |publisher=Eisenbrauns |year=2006 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7cdy67ZvzdkC |isbn=978-1-57506-122-1}}
* {{Cite book |last=Sweeney |first=Marvin |chapter=Genesis in the Context of Jewish Thought |editor1-last=Evans |editor1-first=Craig A. |editor2-last=Lohr |editor2-first=Joel N. |title=The Book of Genesis: Composition, Reception, and Interpretation |publisher=Brill |year=2012 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tB77B7HT23wC |isbn=978-90-04-22653-1}}
* {{Cite book |last=Van Seters |first=John |chapter=The Pentateuch |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=owwhpmIVgSAC |editor=Steven L. McKenzie, Matt Patrick Graham |title=The Hebrew Bible Today: An Introduction to Critical Issues |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-664-25652-4}}
* {{Cite book |last=Van Seters |first=John |title=The Pentateuch: A Social-science Commentary |publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group |year=2004 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T-Vi9eK_vS0C&pg=PA7 |isbn=978-0-567-08088-2}}
* {{Cite book |last=Walsh |first=Jerome T |title=Style and Structure in Biblical Hebrew Narrative |publisher=Liturgical Press |year=2001 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hGeXrcQTZ2kC |isbn=978-0-8146-5897-0}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wenham |first=Gordon |chapter=Genesis |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Vo-11umIZQC&pg=PA34 |editor=James D. G. Dunn, John William Rogerson |title=Eerdmans Bible Commentary |publisher=Eerdmans |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-8028-3711-0}}
* {{Cite book |last=Whybray |first=R.N |chapter=Genesis |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3surkLVdw3UC&pg=PA38 |editor=John Barton |title=Oxford Bible Commentary |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-19-875500-5 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordbiblecomme0000unse}}
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
=== Commentaries ===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last=Blenkinsopp |first=Joseph |title=Creation, Un-creation, Re-creation: A Discursive Commentary on Genesis 1–11 |publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group |year=2011 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B12qwOSMD20C |isbn=978-0-567-37287-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Brueggemann |first=Walter |date=1986 |title=Genesis |series=Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AJh1BwAAQBAJ |location=Atlanta |publisher=John Knox Press |isbn=0-8042-3101-X |author-link=Walter Brueggemann}}
* {{Cite book |last=Cotter |first=David W |title=Genesis |publisher=[[Liturgical Press]] |year=2003 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6lCVzr4cT9QC |isbn=978-0-8146-5040-0}}
* {{cite book |last=De La Torre |first=Miguel |date=2011 |title=Genesis |series=Belief: A Theological Commentary on the Bible |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |author-link=Miguel A. De La Torre}}
* [[Terence E. Fretheim|Fretheim, Terence E.]] "The Book of Genesis." In ''The New Interpreter's Bible''. Edited by Leander E. Keck, vol. 1, pp.&nbsp;319–674. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994. {{ISBN|0-687-27814-7}}.
* {{Cite book |last=Hamilton |first=Victor P |title=The Book of Genesis: chapters 18–50 |publisher=Eerdmans |year=1995 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zlQ4chBCC5oC&pg=PA198 |isbn=978-0-8028-2309-0}}
* [[Samson Raphael Hirsch|Hirsch, Samson Raphael]]. ''The Pentateuch: Genesis''. Translated by Isaac Levy. Judaica Press, 2nd edition 1999. {{ISBN|0-910818-12-6}}. Originally published as ''Der Pentateuch uebersetzt und erklaert'' Frankfurt, 1867–1878.
* [[Leon Kass|Kass, Leon R.]] ''The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesis''. New York: Free Press, 2003. {{ISBN|0-7432-4299-8}}.
* {{Cite book |last1=Kessler |first1=Martin |last2=Deurloo |first2=Karel Adriaan |title=A Commentary on Genesis: The Book of Beginnings |publisher=Paulist Press |year=2004 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mBWeLCTgT0QC |isbn=978-0-8091-4205-7}}
* [[Gunther Plaut|Plaut, Gunther]]. ''The Torah: A Modern Commentary'' (1981), {{ISBN|0-8074-0055-6}}
* {{Cite book |last=Rogerson |first=John William |title=Genesis 1–11 |publisher=T&T Clark |year=1991 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EFle13pCS0wC |isbn=978-0-567-08338-8}}
* {{Cite book |last=Sacks |first=Robert D |title=A Commentary on the Book of Genesis |publisher=Edwin Mellen |year=1990 |url=https://archive.org/details/RobertSacksACommentaryOnTheBookOfGenesis}}
* [[Nahum M. Sarna|Sarna, Nahum M.]] ''The JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis: The Traditional Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation''. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1989. {{ISBN|0-8276-0326-6}}.
* [[Ephraim Avigdor Speiser|Speiser, E.A.]] ''Genesis: Introduction, Translation, and Notes''. New York: [[Anchor Bible]], 1964. {{ISBN|0-385-00854-6}}.
* {{Cite book |last=Towner |first=Wayne Sibley |title=Genesis |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |year=2001 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6ONdsoa7MHUC |isbn=978-0-664-25256-4}}
* {{Cite book |last=Turner |first=Laurence |title=Genesis, Second Edition |publisher=Sheffield Phoenix Press |year=2009 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SvxTWrBZVtwC |isbn=978-1-906055-65-3}}
* {{Cite book |last=Von Rad |first=Gerhard |title=Genesis: A Commentary |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |year=1972 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IbuBa8Qy3AwC |isbn=978-0-664-22745-6}}
{{Refend}}

=== General ===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last=Blenkinsopp |first=Joseph |title=Treasures old and new: Essays in the Theology of the Pentateuch |publisher=Eerdmans |year=2004 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wq0YsOpTjKIC |isbn=978-0-8028-2679-4}}
* {{cite book |last1=Campbell |first1=Antony F |last2=O'Brien |first2=Mark A |title=Sources of the Pentateuch: Texts, Introductions, Annotations |publisher=Fortress Press |year=1993 |url=https://archive.org/details/sourcesofpentate0000camp |url-access=registration |isbn=978-1-4514-1367-0}}
* {{Cite book |last=Carr |first=David M |title=Reading the Fractures of Genesis |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |year=1996 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8UJctZxFHikC |isbn=978-0-664-22071-6}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hendel |first=Ronald |title=The Book of "Genesis": A Biography (Lives of Great Religious Books) |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |year=2012 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xBPpIHwcZMUC |isbn=978-0-691-14012-4}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Levin |first1=Christoph L |title=The Old Testament: A Brief Introduction |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2005 |url=https://archive.org/details/oldtestamentbrie00levi |url-access=registration |isbn=978-0-691-11394-4}}
* {{Cite book |last=McEntire |first=Mark |title=Struggling with God: An Introduction to the Pentateuch |publisher=Mercer University Press |year=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VwOs9f1FpmsC&pg=PA87 |isbn=978-0-88146-101-5}}
* {{Cite book |first=Murray L. |last=Newman |title=Genesis |year=1999 |url=http://www.vts.edu/ftpimages/95/download/download_group10629_id314909.pdf |publisher=Forward Movement Publications, Cincinnati, OH |access-date=2016-03-19 |archive-date=2013-05-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520165542/http://www.vts.edu/ftpimages/95/download/download_group10629_id314909.pdf}}
* {{Cite book |last=Van Seters |first=John |title=Prologue to History: The Yahwist as Historian in Genesis |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |year=1992 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zRl8aj_KiM4C |isbn=978-0-664-22179-9}}
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
* {{librivox book | dtitle=Bible: Genesis| stitle=01: Genesis}} Various versions	
{{Commons category|Book of Genesis}}
{{Wikiquote|Genesis}}
{{Wikisource|Genesis (Bible)|Genesis}}
{{Wikiversity|Study of Genesis}}

{{S-start}}
{{s-hou | [[Pentateuch]]|||}}
{{S-bef | before = None | rows = 2 }}
{{S-ttl | title = [[Hebrew Bible]] }}
{{s-aft | after = [[Book of Exodus|Exodus]] | rows= 2 }}
{{S-ttl | title = [[Christianity|Christian]]<br />[[Old Testament]] }}
{{s-end}}

{{Book of Genesis}}
{{Genesis 1}}
{{Books of the Bible}}
{{Adam and Eve}}
{{Cain and Abel}}
{{Noah's Ark}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Book Of Genesis}}
[[Category:Book of Genesis| ]]
[[Category:6th-century BC books|Genesis]]
[[Category:5th-century BC books|Genesis]]
[[Category:Mythology books]]
[[Category:Torah books|1]]
[[Category:Creation myths]]