Book of Genesis
The opening book of the Bible, narrating creation, humanity’s early history, and the ancestral stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph.
Creation narrative in Genesis: Genesis 1–2 presents two complementary accounts of God creating the world and humanity. These opening accounts establish the book’s cosmic beginning and distinct portrayals of creation.
Torah: The first five books of the Hebrew Bible, also called the Pentateuch. Genesis opens the Torah and introduces narratives continued in its four other books.
Composition of the Torah: The historical process through which the Torah’s texts were composed, edited, and combined. Genesis’s formation is part of the wider history of the Torah’s composition.
Covenant in the Bible: A binding relationship established by God with people or a community in biblical texts. Promises to Noah and Abraham make covenant a recurring framework in Genesis.
Garden of Eden: A garden in Genesis where Adam and Eve live before eating from the tree of knowledge. The garden story explains humanity’s expulsion and introduces themes of disobedience and mortality.
Hebrew Bible: The collection of Jewish scriptures, organized into the Torah, Prophets, and Writings. Genesis belongs to the Torah, the Hebrew Bible’s first major division.
Ancient Near East: The region and cultures of western Asia and northeastern Africa in antiquity. Genesis shares settings, motifs, and cultural worlds with ancient Near Eastern literature.
Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, traditions that connect their religious histories to Abraham. Genesis supplies foundational ancestral narratives for traditions that identify with Abraham.
Noah's ark: The vessel Noah builds in Genesis to survive a flood sent by God. The flood story depicts judgment, survival, and a covenant extending beyond one family.
Biblical Hebrew: The ancient Hebrew language used in much of the Hebrew Bible. The book’s Hebrew wording, repetitions, and wordplay shape its literary effects.