Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50

Genesis is the first book of the Bible. It is a book of beginnings — the beginning of the universe, the beginning of human life, the beginning of sin, and the beginning of God’s plan to redeem and restore His creation. It tells us about God, who was before time and who is the eternal, sovereign Creator of everything that exists. Genesis reveals that God created men and women in His image, giving them dignity, purpose, and the ability to know Him. Yet the first man and woman spoiled this creation through wilful disobedience, bringing sin and death into the human experience.

From that point on, the book unfolds the early history of the world: the spread of sin, the judgment of the flood, the scattering of nations, and the call of one man, Abraham, through whom God would begin His covenant purposes. In Genesis we see the foundations of God’s relationship with humanity — His holiness, His justice, His mercy, and His faithfulness to His promises.

There is some disagreement among Christians regarding the historical nature of the book. Questions naturally arise such as: “Was there a garden?”, “Was there a fall with the serpent?”, “Was there a worldwide flood, or a local flood?”, “Was there really a Tower of Babel?” Disagreements arise partly because of the way in which the book is read, in particular, which genre the reader believes most appropriately fits the text.

Many Christians read the book as literal history and therefore understand the world to be around 6,000 years old. They read the whole Creation story through this lens of a literalistic understanding. At the other end of the spectrum, some Christians see the genre, at least of the first few chapters of Genesis, in a more poetic, parabolic, or metaphorical way. These Christians may not believe in a literal Adam and Eve, but still see the creation story as communicating key truths: that God is Creator, that humans bear His image, and that humans have rebelled against their Creator.

It has traditionally been accepted that Moses was the author of Genesis, writing during Israel’s wilderness period. This view is supported by the fact that later biblical books, including the New Testament, refer to the “Law of Moses” and treat the Pentateuch (the first five books) as a unified work. Genesis contains details that Moses could have received through direct revelation from God, through historical records preserved by the patriarchs, and through oral tradition faithfully passed down from generation to generation.

While modern critical scholarship often argues for multiple authors and later compilation, the traditional view sees Moses as the primary author and compiler, guided by the Holy Spirit, ensuring the accuracy and unity of the final text.

Genesis divides naturally into two main sections: Genesis 1-11 (primeval history) and Genesis 12-50 (patriarchal history)

This section deals with universal beginnings including the creation of the heavens and the earth, the creation of humanity, the entrance of sin into the world, the spread of corruption, the flood in the days of Noah, and the scattering of the nations at Babel. These chapters set the theological foundation for the rest of the Bible, showing God as creator and judge, humanity as fallen, and God’s plan of redemption beginning to take shape. The focus is on the whole human race, not yet narrowed to one family or nation.

The narrative shifts from a universal focus to a particular family through whom God will bless the nations. This section tells the story of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. God calls Abraham to leave his homeland and promises to make him into a great nation. The covenant promises of land, descendants, and blessing, are repeated and reaffirmed to each generation. These chapters highlight God’s faithfulness, His sovereign choice, and His unfolding plan of salvation through the people of Israel.

Genesis moves across a wide geographical canvas. Beginning in the garden of Eden, it tells the story of where God placed the first humans before the fall. Following the flood, moving to Mesopotamia, which was the cradle of early civilization, it tells the story of Babel and then introduces Abram of Ur of the Chaldees. The bulk of Genesis 12-50 is then set in Canaan, the promised land, where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived as sojourners. Interspersed in the patriarch's story is Egypt, a place of both refuge and testing. It is particularly central in the Joseph narrative. These locations not only form the backdrop for the events but also become significant in later biblical history.

Genesis introduces key figures whose lives shape the biblical story. Key people within the flow of Genesis include:

• Adam and Eve — the first humans, created in God’s image
• Noah — a man of righteousness who obeyed God in building the ark
• Abraham — called by God to leave his homeland and promised to be the father of many nations
• Isaac — the son of the promise to Abraham
• Jacob — later named Israel, father of the twelve tribes
• Joseph — whose faith and wisdom brought deliverance to his family and to Egypt

Some of the most important themes in Genesis include:

• God as Creator and Sovereign Lord over all that exists
• Humanity’s dignity and purpose as God’s image-bearers
• The reality and consequences of sin, beginning with the fall
• Blessing and promise as central to God’s redemptive plan
• God’s covenant faithfulness despite human unfaithfulness

The oldest complete Hebrew manuscripts of Genesis are found within the Masoretic Text tradition, dating to around the 10th century AD. However, fragments of Genesis, written in Hebrew, have been discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls, dating from the 2nd century BC. These demonstrate the remarkable textual stability of the book over many centuries. The ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint (from around the 3rd century BC), also preserves Genesis and shows that its text was already well established long before the time of Christ.

Archaeological discoveries have uncovered cultural, geographical, and historical contexts that align closely with the biblical record. Discoveries from ancient Mesopotamia such as the Sumerian King List, flood narratives like the Epic of Gilgamesh, and records of city-states like Ur, show that memories of creation, catastrophic floods, and early civilisation were deeply embedded in the Ancient Near East. The patriarchal narratives also reflect authentic customs of the second millennium BC, including covenant-making practices, inheritance laws, and the use of concubines, all known from extra-biblical texts. These findings help situate Genesis within the real world of ancient history, confirming that its stories were not created in isolation, but speak into, and often challenge, the beliefs of surrounding cultures.