Genesis (Greek Γένεσις, "birth", "origin") or Bereshit (Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית, "in the beginning" ) is the first book of the Hebrew bible/Christian Old Testament, and the first of five books of the Jewish Pentateuch or Torah. Written in the form of a history, its narrative runs from the creation of the world to the descent of the children of Israel into Egypt, and it contains some of the best-known biblical stories, including Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah's Ark, the Tower of Babel, and the biblical Patriarchs.
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Genesis (Greek Γένεσις, "birth", "origin") or Bereshit (Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית, "in the beginning" ) is the first book of the Hebrew bible/Christian Old Testament, and the first of five books of the Jewish Pentateuch or Torah. Written in the form of a history, its narrative runs from the creation of the world to the descent of the children of Israel into Egypt, and it contains some of the best-known biblical stories, including Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah's Ark, the Tower of Babel, and the biblical Patriarchs.
For Jews the theological importance of Genesis centers on the Covenants linking God to his Chosen People and the people to the Promised Land. Christianity has reinterpreted Genesis as the prefiguration of Christian beliefs, notably the Christian view of Christ as the new Adam and the New Testament as the culmination of the covenants.
Structurally, Genesis consists of the "primeval history" (chapters 1-11) and cycles of Patriarchal stories - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob/Israel. The narrative of Joseph stands apart from these. Scholars believe that it reached its final form in the 5th century BC, with a previous history of composition reaching back possibly to the 10th century.
Title
In Hebrew the book is called Bereshit, meaning "in the beginning", from the first word of the Hebrew text, in line with the other four books of the Torah. When the Bible was translated into Greek in the 3rd century BC to produce the Septuagint, the name given was Genesis, meaning "birth" or "origin". This was in line with the Septuagint use of subject themes as book names. The Greek title has continued to be used in all subsequent Latin and English versions of the book, and most other languages.
Summary
Rolf Rendtorff's division of Genesis into a primeval history and Patriarchal cycles - Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph - is followed here for convenience in organising the summary.''
Primeval history
"When God began to create heaven and earth, and the earth then was welter and waste and darkness over the deep and God's breath hovering over the waters, God said, 'Let there be light.' and there was light"(Genesis chapter 1:3) ; the "firmament" separating "the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament;" dry land and seas and plants and trees which grew fruit with seed; the sun, moon and stars in the firmament; air-breathing sea creatures, fishes and birds; and on the sixth day, "the beasts of the earth according to their kinds." "Then God said, Let us make man in our image ... in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." On Sabbath, God rests from the task of completing the heavens and the earth: "So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all his work which he had done in creation."
