The book of Genesis introduces the collection of books that make up the first six books of the Old Testament. Genesis tells about creation, the earliest human beings, and the ancestral family of Israel, and introduces the events beginning in Exodus that lead up to the conquest of Canaan told about in the book of Joshua.
The structure of Genesis “Genesis” means “beginning” or “origin,” and the book contains two major sections. Chapters 1–11 tell about creation, the flood, and the tower of Babel. In addition these chapters give the names of the earliest people, beginning with Adam and Eve and continuing to Abraham and Sarah. The second section of Genesis (11.27–50.26) places our attention on the ancestors of Israel, who received God’s promise of the land of Canaan, but who never saw the promise come true. These ancestors are Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and his wives Leah and Rachel, and Joseph and his brothers. The two halves of Genesis are tied together by a...