The main message of the Bible is God’s plan of salvation, and Genesis provides a great start to that grand story. The strongest tradition points to Moses as the author, so the first readers or hearers of the book were likely the Israelites who had escaped slavery under the Egyptian king. Imagine being among those Israelites in the wilderness, hearing the words of Genesis being read out for the first time!

The 50 chapters can be divided into two asymmetrical parts: prehistory (Genesis 1–11) and the “history of the fathers” (Genesis 12–50). While the second part covers God’s dealings with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the first takes a wider view on God’s involvement in universal history—how He made the world and our role in His creation.

“Genesis” means “beginning”, and the first 11 chapters speak of several important beginnings, including the beginning of the universe, planet Earth, and the human race. They also speak of how sin, conflict, death, and divine judgment and punishment began. And they introduce the big picture of God’s salvation message: that the Israelites’ God was the only and all-powerful Creator; that the human race—and not just Israel—was uniquely created in God’s image and was the object of His special favour and affection; that all people were deeply affected by sin and incapable of staying true to the relationship God wanted to have with them; and that despite their rebellion, God had decided to restore all people to a right relationship with Him.

These grand themes run through the absorbing stories of Genesis 1–11. They set the stage for God to reveal His salvation plan, which would begin with the formation of the nation of Israel and climax with the coming of Jesus Christ as Saviour of the world.

The Structure of Genesis 1–11