BOOK 1. GENESIS. BOOK 1. GENESIS. BOOK 1. GENESIS. BOOK 1. GENESIS. . The book of Genesis is the first book of the Old Testament and the entire Bible. It is a historical account that tells the story of the creation of the world, the first humans, and the beginning of Israel, referred to as the chosen people of God. In Genesis, we learn about the origin of time, space, and matter, as well as the origin of man, marriage, the Jewish nation, sin, and the battle between good and evil. Genesis reveals God’s continued faithfulness contrasted with mankind’s continual failure and therefore sets the backdrop for grace. 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 BC, although arguments have been made for as late as the 270s BC. It is divisible into two parts, the primeval history, chapters 1–11, and the ancestral history, chapters 12–50. 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. The ancestral history, chapters 12–50, tells of the prehistory of Israel, God's chosen people. At God's command, Noah's descendant Abraham journeys from his birthplace, described as Ur of the Chaldeans and whose identification with Sumerian Ur is 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, 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 Exodus, which was their departure from Egypt and their journey into the Promise Land. The narrative is punctuated by a series of 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. BOOK ONE. GENESIS. CHAPTERS 1 THRU 50. . . . . BOOK ONE. GENESIS. CHAPTERS 1 THRU 50. . . . . BOOK ONE. GENESIS. CHAPTERS 1 THRU 50. . . . . GENESIS. CHAPTER `1. God created the heavens, the earth and everything that lives. He made humankind in his image, and gave them charge over the earth. GENESIS. CHAPTER `2. God formed a man and gave him the garden in Eden, except the tree of good and evil. Adam was alone so God made a woman as his partner. GENESIS. CHAPTER `3. The serpent deceived the woman. She and Adam ate from the tree. The ground was cursed, and God sent Adam and Eve out of the garden. GENESIS. CHAPTER `4. Eve's sons made offerings to the LORD. Only Abel's was acceptable, so Cain killed him. Abel's blood cried out and God sent Cain away. GENESIS. CHAPTER `5. Adam's line was: Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech and Noah. Noah's sons were Shem, Ham and Japheth. GENESIS. CHAPTER `6. Humankind corrupted the earth with evil. God decided to destroy them. He told Noah to build an ark to be saved from the flood. GENESIS. CHAPTER `7. Noah and his family went into the ark with two of each creature. It rained for forty days and forty nights and the earth was covered. GENESIS. CHAPTER `8. The flood abated. Noah sent out a raven and two doves. When the earth was dry God called them all out of the ark. Noah built an altar. GENESIS. CHAPTER `9. God blessed Noah and set the rainbow as a sign that he would never flood the earth again. Noah got drunk and cursed Ham's son Canaan. GENESIS. CHAPTER 10. Japheth's line lived in the coastlands; Ham's included Nimrod and the Canaanites; Shem's lived in the East. These formed the nations. GENESIS. CHAPTER 11. They began building a great tower for themselves, but the Lord confused their language. Shem's line included Abram who married Sarai. GENESIS. CHAPTER 12. God told Abram, "Go, I will make you a great nation. You will be a blessing." In Egypt Abram lied about Sarai and Pharaoh was cursed. GENESIS. CHAPTER 13. Abram journeyed with his nephew Lot. Their servants argued, so Lot went to Sodom, Abram to Canaan. The LORD promised Abram the land. GENESIS. CHAPTER 14. The kings went to war and took Lot captive. Abram rescued Lot. Melchizedek blessed Abram and Abram gave him a tenth of everything. GENESIS. CHAPTER 15. The Lord promised Abram an heir and many descendants. Abram believed. He was told that they would be enslaved but would then return. GENESIS. CHAPTER 16. Sarai told Abram to have children with Hagar. Hagar conceived, then ran away, but an angel sent her back. Hagar's son was Ishmael. GENESIS. CHAPTER 17. God made a covenant with Abram and renamed him Abraham. He renamed Sarai Sarah and promised them a son. The men were circumcised. GENESIS. CHAPTER 18. Three visitors came and said that Sarah would have a son next year. Sodom was very evil; Abraham pleaded with the LORD for the city. GENESIS. CHAPTER 19. Angels took Lot out of Sodom. The city was destroyed by fire and Lot's wife was turned to salt. His daughters had children for him. GENESIS. CHAPTER 20. In Gerar Abraham said, "Sarah is my sister." King Abimelech took her but God warned him in a dream. He restored Sarah to Abraham. GENESIS. CHAPTER 21. As promised, Sarah had a son: Isaac. She had Hagar and Ishmael sent away but God preserved them. Abraham and Abimelech made a treaty. GENESIS. CHAPTER 22. God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. As Abraham obeyed, an angel stopped him. The LORD provided a ram instead and blessed Abraham. GENESIS. CHAPTER 23. Sarah died in Kiriath-arba. Abraham asked the Hittites for a burial site. He bought a cave from Ephron and buried Sarah there. GENESIS. CHAPTER 24. Abraham's servant went to Nahor to find a wife for Isaac. He met Rebekah by the well. She went back with him and married Isaac. GENESIS. CHAPTER 25. Abraham died and was buried with Sarah. Isaac and Rebekah had twins: Esau and Jacob. Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a meal. GENESIS. CHAPTER 26. In Gerar Isaac lied about Rebekah. He grew so rich that Abimelech sent him away. He dug wells, and at Beersheba the LORD blessed him. GENESIS. CHAPTER 27. Rebekah and Jacob tricked Isaac into giving Jacob his blessing. Esau vowed revenge so Rebekah told Jacob to go to her brother Laban. GENESIS. CHAPTER 28. Isaac sent Jacob to marry one of Laban's daughters. On the way Jacob dreamed of a ladder reaching to heaven and the LORD blessed him. GENESIS. CHAPTER 29. Jacob worked for Laban seven years to marry Rachel, but Laban gave him Leah and made him work seven more for Rachel. Leah had sons. GENESIS. CHAPTER 30. Rachel's maid had sons for Jacob, then Leah's maid, then Leah. Finally Rachel had a son. Laban allowed Jacob flocks as wages to stay. GENESIS. CHAPTER 31. The Lord told Jacob to return home. Jacob left in secret and Rachel took Laban's idols. Laban chased Jacob but they made a treaty. GENESIS. CHAPTER 32. Jacob heard that Esau was coming to meet him. He was afraid and sent gifts. That night he wrestled with a man who renamed him Israel. GENESIS. CHAPTER 33. Esau and his men arrived. Jacob bowed down but Esau ran to embrace him. Jacob settled near Shechem and built an altar. GENESIS. CHAPTER 34. Shechem raped Jacob's daughter and asked to marry her. Jacob's sons told him to circumcise his men, then Simeon and Levi killed them. GENESIS. CHAPTER 35. Jacob went to Bethel and God renamed him Israel. They journeyed on. Rachel died having Israel's twelfth son. Isaac died in Hebron. GENESIS. CHAPTER 36. Esau's sons were Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jalam and Korah. Esau and his family moved away to Seir. They became the Edomites. GENESIS. CHAPTER 37. Joseph was Israel's favourite son. He had dreams and his brothers were jealous so they sold him. He was bought by Potiphar in Egypt. GENESIS. CHAPTER 38. Judah's sons Er and Onan died, leaving Tamar a widow. Judah sent her away but she put on a veil and he slept with her. She had twins. GENESIS. CHAPTER 39. Potiphar put Joseph in charge of his house. His wife tried to seduce Joseph, then lied about it, so Potiphar put Joseph in prison. GENESIS. CHAPTER 40. Pharaoh put his cupbearer and baker in prison. Joseph interpreted their dreams. The cupbearer was restored but the baker was hanged. GENESIS. CHAPTER 41. Pharaoh had a dream and called for Joseph to interpret it. The dream predicted a famine. Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of all Egypt. GENESIS. CHAPTER 42. Joseph's brothers went to Egypt to buy grain but didn't recognise him. He kept Simeon in prison and sent the rest to fetch Benjamin. GENESIS. CHAPTER 43. When the grain ran out, Joseph's brothers went back to Egypt with Benjamin. Joseph invited them to his house and gave them a feast. GENESIS. CHAPTER 44. Joseph hid his cup in Benjamin's sack, then sent a steward after his brothers. Judah offered himself as a slave instead of Benjamin. GENESIS. CHAPTER 45. Joseph told his brothers who he was. They were afraid, but he told them, "God sent me here." His brothers went to fetch their father. GENESIS. CHAPTER 46. So Israel set out with all his household. God told him not to be afraid. Israel and all his family came to Egypt and Joseph met him. GENESIS. CHAPTER 47. Pharaoh allowed Joseph's family to settle in Goshen. The famine continued and the Egyptians sold all they had to Pharaoh for food. GENESIS. CHAPTER 48. Jacob became ill, so Joseph took his sons to see him. Jacob blessed Joseph's sons as his own, putting Ephraim ahead of Manasseh. GENESIS. CHAPTER 49. Jacob gathered his sons and blessed each of them. He charged them to bury him with Abraham in the cave in Canaan, and then he died. GENESIS. CHAPTER 50. Pharaoh allowed Joseph to go and bury Jacob. Before Joseph died, he said that God would lead his people back to the promised land. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ GENESIS CHAPTER 1 verses 1 thru 31 FROM THE LIVING BIBLE. 1 When God began creating[a] the heavens and the earth, 2 the earth was[b] a shapeless, chaotic mass, with the Spirit of God brooding over the dark vapors. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light.” And light appeared. 4-5 And God was pleased with it and divided the light from the darkness. He called the light “daytime,” and the darkness “nighttime.” Together they formed the first day.[c] 6 And God said, “Let the vapors separate[d] to form the sky above and the oceans below.” 7-8 So God made the sky, dividing the vapor above from the water below. This all happened on the second day.[e] 9-10 Then God said, “Let the water beneath the sky be gathered into oceans so that the dry land will emerge.” And so it was. Then God named the dry land “earth,” and the water “seas.” And God was pleased. 11-12 And he said, “Let the earth burst forth with every sort of grass and seed-bearing plant, and fruit trees with seeds inside the fruit, so that these seeds will produce the kinds of plants and fruits they came from.” And so it was, and God was pleased. 13 This all occurred on the third day.[f] 14-15 Then God said, “Let bright lights appear in the sky to give light to the earth and to identify the day and the night; they shall bring about the seasons on the earth, and mark the days and years.” And so it was. 16 For God had made two huge lights, the sun and moon, to shine down upon the earth—the larger one, the sun, to preside over the day and the smaller one, the moon, to preside through the night; he had also made the stars. 17 And God set them in the sky to light the earth, 18 and to preside over the day and night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God was pleased. 19 This all happened on the fourth day.[g] 20 Then God said, “Let the waters teem with fish and other life, and let the skies be filled with birds of every kind.” 21-22 So God created great sea animals, and every sort of fish and every kind of bird. And God looked at them with pleasure, and blessed them all. “Multiply and stock the oceans,” he told them, and to the birds he said, “Let your numbers increase. Fill the earth!” 23 That ended the fifth day.[h] 24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth every kind of animal—cattle and reptiles and wildlife of every kind.” And so it was. 25 God made all sorts of wild animals and cattle and reptiles. And God was pleased with what he had done. 26 Then God said, “Let us make a man[i]—someone like ourselves, to be the master of all life upon the earth and in the skies and in the seas.” 27 So God made man like his Maker. Like God did God make man; Man and maid did he make them. 28 And God blessed them and told them, “Multiply and fill the earth and subdue it; you are masters of the fish and birds and all the animals. 29 And look! I have given you the seed-bearing plants throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. 30 And I’ve given all the grass and plants to the animals and birds for their food.” 31 Then God looked over all that he had made, and it was excellent in every way. This ended the sixth day.[j] ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ GENESIS CHAPTER 2 verses 1thru 25 FROM THE LIVING BIBLE. 1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. 2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. ADAM AND EVE 4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. 5 Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth[a] and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, 6 but streams[b] came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7 Then the Lord God formed a man[c] from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. 8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin[d] and onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush.[e] 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. 15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” 18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” 19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam[f] no suitable helper was found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs[g] and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib[h] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” 24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. 25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.