I. Name

The Hebrew name of the first book of the Old Testament is appropriately taken from the word with which the book opens, Bereshith, "in the beginning. " The Septuagint translates this word Genesis, "origin," "beginning," and the Vulgate and most other versions have adopted the Greek word. It is well called "The Book of Origins."

II. Contents

The analysis of the book is very simple. We have first a statement of facts relating to the primeval world, then a sketch of patriarchal history until the death of Joseph in Egypt, telling us of the origin of the nation and explaining how they came to be in bondage there. Each of these divisions is again subdivided into five minor subdivisions:

A. The primeval period. Chs. 1-11:26

1. Generations of the heavens and the earth. Chs. 1-4.

2. Generations of Adam. Chs. 5:1-6:8.

3. Generations of Noah. Chs. 6:9-9:29.

4. Generations of the sons of Noah. Chs. 10:1-11:9.

5. Generations of Shem. Ch. 11:10-26.

B. The patriarchal period. Chs. 11:2y-§o:26

1. The generations of Terah. Chs. 11:27-25:11.

2. The generations of Ishmael. Ch. 25:12-18.

3. The generations of Isaac. Chs. 25:19-35:29.

4. The generations of Esau. Chs. 36:1-37:1.

5. The generations of Jacob. Chs. 37:2-50:26.

Each of these ten subdivisions, except the first, is introduced by the formula "These are the generations." In the first, instead of standing at the beginning, it is found at 2:4, Chs. 1:1-2:3 being regarded as a general introduction. This expression is plainly intended as a heading to the statement which follows it. The length of the section depends in every case upon its importance as related to the general theme of the book. Hence the generations of Ishmael are confined to six verses while those of Terah, which relate principally to Abraham, fill fourteen chapters.

The manifest design of the writer is to explain the origin of the Jewish nation and its peculiar relation to God. This appears in his record of the origin of the earth and of man, thus giving to the book a value which not only justifies its place at the beginning of the Bible, but also shows how fundamental its teachings are to all that follows.

Equally manifest is the deep religious tone which pervades the book. Although designed to set forth the historical records of the past, every fact is seen to have a profound moral and spiritual value. Everything begins with God and is of importance because of its relation to God. The grandest feature of the Jewish nation is the manifest presence of God in it, and the truth is constantly enforced that man is as much under the divine direction as the heavens and the earth, because both are the direct works of God's hand and are intended to advance the divine glory.

But the most remarkable feature of this narrative is its constant reference to the future of the nation and of the world. It is to be the center of the world's religious history. Already in 3:13-15 the fact of a great world conflict with evil is announced; in 9:18-27 deliverance is promised through the descendants of Shem; in 12:1-3 Abraham is declared to be the one in whom all the families of the earth are to be blessed; in 26:1-5 his son, Isaac, is chosen; in 28:10-17 Jacob, the son of Isaac, is selected as the one through whom the final deliverance will come; and in 49:8-12, out of Jacob's twelve sons, Judah is pointed out as the one through whom the great salvation will be secured. These utterances form the beginning of a series running all through the Old Testament, growing more explicit as time goes on, until the national life is permeated with the thought of a Messiah in whom the world would find salvation.