Genesis 12:1–3 established a primary focus on God’s promises to Abraham. This narrowed their view from the entire world of peoples in Gen. 1–11 to one small nation, Israel, through whom God would progressively accomplish His redemptive plan. This underscored Israel’s mission to be “a light to the Gentiles” (Is. 42:6). God promised land, descendants (seed), and blessing. This 3-fold promise became, in turn, the basis of the covenant with Abraham (Gen. 15:1–20). The rest of Scripture bears out the fulfillment of these promises.
On a larger scale, Gen. 1-11 set forth a singular message about the character and works of God. In the sequence of accounts which make up these chapters of Scripture, a pattern emerges which reveals God’s abundant grace as He responded to the willful disobedience of mankind. Without exception, in each account God increased the manifestation of His grace. But also without exception, man responded in greater sinful rebellion. In biblical words, the more sin abounded the more did God’s grace abound (cf. Rom. 5:20).
One final theme of both theological and historical significance sets Genesis apart from other books of Scripture, in that the first book of Scripture corresponds closely with the final book. In the book of Revelation, the paradise which was lost in Genesis will be regained. The apostle John clearly presented the events recorded in his book as future resolutions to the problems which began as a result of the curse in Gen. 3. His focus is upon the effects of the Fall in the undoing of creation and the manner in which God rids His creation of the curse effect. In John’s own words, “And there shall be no more curse” (Rev. 22:3). Not surprisingly, in the final chapter of God’s Word, believers will find themselves back in the Garden of Eden, the eternal paradise of God, eating from the tree of life (Rev. 22:1-14). At that time, they will partake, wearing robes washed in the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 22:14).
Interpretive Challenges
Grasping the individual messages of Genesis which make up the larger plan and purpose of the book presents no small challenge since both the individual accounts and the book’s overall message offer important lessons to faith and works. Genesis presents creation by divine fiat, ex nihilo, i.e., “out of nothing.” Three traumatic events of epic proportions, namely the Fall, the universal Flood, and the Dispersion of nations are presented as historical backdrop in order to understand world history. From Abraham on, the pattern is to focus on God’s redemption and blessing.
The customs of Genesis often differ considerably from those of our modern day. They must be explained against their ancient Near Eastern background. Each custom must be treated according to the immediate context of the passage before any attempt is made to explain it based on customs recorded in extrabiblical sources or even elsewhere in Scripture.
Outline
Genesis by content is comprised of two basic sections: 1) Primitive history (Gen. 1–11) and 2) Patriarchal history (Gen. 12–50). Primitive history records 4 major events: 1) Creation (Gen. 1, 2); 2) the Fall (Gen. 3–5); 3) the Flood (Gen. 6–9); and 4) the Dispersion (Gen. 10, 11). Patriarchal history spotlights 4 great men: 1) Abraham (Gen. 12:1—25:8); 2) Isaac (Gen. 21:1–35:29); 3) Jacob (Gen. 25:21–50:14); and 4) Joseph (Gen. 30:22–50:26).
The literary structure of Genesis is built on the frequently recurring phrase “the history/genealogy of” and is the basis for the following outline.
I. The Creation of Heaven and Earth (1:1-2:3)
II. The Generations of the Heavens and the Earth (2:4-4:26)
A. Adam and Eve in Eden (2:4-25)
B. The Fall and Its Outcomes (chap. 3)
C. Murder of a Brother (4:1-24)
D. Hope in the Descendants of Seth (4:25, 26)
III. The Generations of Adam (5:1-6:8)
A. Genealogy—Seth to Noah (chap. 5)
B. Rampant Sin Prior to the Flood (6:1-8)
IV. The Generations of Noah (6:9-9:29)
A. Preparation for the Flood (6:9-7:9)
B. The Flood and Deliverance (7:10-8:19)
C. God’s Noahic Covenant (8:20-9:17)
D. The History of Noah’s Descendants (9:18-29)
V. The Generations of Shem, Ham, and Japheth (10:1-11:9)
A. The Nations (chap. 10)
B. Dispersion of the Nations (11:1-9)
VI. The Generations of Shem: Genealogy of Shem to Terah (11:10-26)
VII. The Generations of Terah (11:27-25:11)
A. Genealogy (11:27-32)
B. The Abrahamic Covenant: His Land and People (12:1-22:19)
1. Journey to the Promised Land (12:1–9)
2. Redemption from Egypt (12:10–20)
3. Division of the land (chap. 13)
4. Victory over the kings (chap. 14)
5. The covenant ratified (chap. 15)
6. Rejection of Hagar and Ishmael (chap. 16)
7. The covenant confirmed (chap. 17)
8. Birth of Isaac foretold (18:1–15)
9. Sodom and Gomorrah (18:16—19:38)
10. Philistine encounter (chap. 20)
11. Isaac’s birth (chap. 21)
12. Abraham’s act of faith with Isaac (22:1–19)
C. Abraham’s Promised Seed (22:20-25:11)
1. Rebekah’s background (22:20–24)
2. Death of Sarah (chap. 23)
3. Isaac’s marriage to Rebekah (chap. 24)
4. Isaac the only heir (25:1–6)
5. Death of Abraham (25:7–11)
VIII. The Generations of Ishmael (25:12-18)
IX. The Generations of Isaac (25:19-35:29)
A. Competition Between Esau and Jacob (25:19-34)
B. Covenant Blessings to Isaac (chap. 26)
C. Jacob’s Deception for the Blessing (27:1-40)
D. Blessing on Jacob in a Foreign Land (27:41-32:32)
1. Jacob sent to Laban (27:41—28:9)
2. Angel at Bethel (28:10–22)
3. Disagreements with Laban (29:1–30)
4. Promised seed (29:31—30:24)
5. Departure from Aram (30:25—31:55)
6. Angels at Mahanaim and Penuel (chap. 32)
E. Esau’s Reunion and Reconciliation with Jacob (33:1-17)
F. Events and Deaths from Shechem to Mamre (33:18-35:29)
X. The Generations of Esau (36:1-37:1)
XI. The Generations of Jacob (37:2-50:26)
A. Joseph’s Dreams (37:2-11)
B. Family Tragedy (37:12-38:30)
C. Vice Regency over Egypt (chaps. 39-41)
D. Reunion with Family (chaps. 42-45)
E. Transition to Exodus (chaps. 46-50)
1. Journey to Egypt (46:1–27)
2. Occupation in Goshen (46:28—47:31)
3. Blessings on the twelve tribes (48:1—49:28)
4. Death and burial of Jacob in Canaan (49:29—50:14)
5. Death of Joseph in Egypt (50:15–26)
The First Book of Moses Called
GENESIS
Genesis 1
The History of Creation
(Gen. 2:4–9; Job 38:4–11; John 1:1–5)
1In the abeginning bGod created the heavens and the earth.
2The earth was cwithout form, and void; and darkness 1was on the face of the deep. dAnd the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
3eThen God said, f“Let there be glight”; and there was light.
4And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.
5God called the light Day, and the hdarkness He called Night. 2So the evening and the morning were the first day.
6Then God said, i“Let there be a 3firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.”
7Thus God made the firmament, jand divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were kabove the firmament; and it was so.
8And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.
9Then God said, l“Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and mlet the dry land ap
pear”; and it was so.
10And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
11Then God said, “Let the earth nbring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the ofruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so.
12And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
13So the evening and the morning were the third day.
14Then God said, “Let there be plights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and qseasons, and for days and years;
15“and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so.
16Then God made two great 4lights: the rgreater light to rule the day, and the slesser light to rule the night. He made tthe stars also.
17God set them in the firmament of the uheavens to give light on the earth,
18and to vrule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
19So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
20Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living 5creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the 6firmament of the heavens.”
21So wGod created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
22And God blessed them, saying, x“Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”
23So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
24Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so.
25And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
26Then God said, y“Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; zlet them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over 7all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27So God created man ain His own image; in the image of God He created him; bmale and female He created them.
28Then God blessed them, and God said to them, c“Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and dsubdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that 8moves on the earth.”
29And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; eto you it shall be for food.
30“Also, to fevery beast of the earth, to every gbird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is 9life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so.
31Then hGod saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Genesis 2
The Garden of Eden
1Thus the heavens and the earth, and aall the host of them, were finished.
2bAnd on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
3Then God cblessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.
4dThis is the 1history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,
5before any eplant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the LORD God had not fcaused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man gto till the ground;
6but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.
7And the LORD God formed man of the hdust of the ground, and ibreathed into his jnostrils the breath of life; and kman became a living being.
Life in God’s Garden
8The LORD God planted la garden meastward in nEden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.
9And out of the ground the LORD God made oevery tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. pThe tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and qevil.
10Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads.
11The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts rthe whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.
12And the gold of that land is good. sBdellium and the onyx stone are there.
13The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush.
14The name of the third river is tHiddekel;2 it is the one which goes toward the east of 3Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.
15Then the LORD God took 4the man and put him in the garden of Eden to 5tend and keep it.
16And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;
17“but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil uyou shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it vyou6 shall surely wdie.”
18And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; xI will make him a helper comparable to him.”
19yOut of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and zbrought them to 7Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.
20So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.
21And the LORD God caused a adeep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.
22Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He 8made into a woman, band He cbrought her to the man.
23And Adam said:
This is now dbone of my bones
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called 9Woman,
Because she was etaken out of 10Man.”
24fTherefore a man shall leave his father and mother and gbe11 joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
25hAnd they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not iashamed.
Genesis 3
The Temptation and Fall of Man
(Rom. 5:12–21)
1Now athe serpent was bmore cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
2And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the cfruit of the trees of the garden;
3“but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you dtouch it, lest you die.”’
4eThen the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.
5“For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6So when the woman fsaw that the tree was good for food, that it was 1pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit gand ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
7Then the eyes of both of them were opened, hand they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves 2coverings.
8And they heard ithe 3sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the 4cool of the day, and Adam and his wife jhid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
9Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him,
“Where are you?”
10So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, kand I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”
11And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”
12Then the man said, l“The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”
13And the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, m“The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
14So the LORD God said to the serpent:
Because you have done this,
You are cursed more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you shall go,
And nyou shall eat dust
All the days of your life.
15And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between oyour seed and pher Seed;
qHe shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.”
16To the woman He said:
I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception;
rIn pain you shall bring forth children;
sYour desire shall be 5for your husband,
And he shall trule over you.”
17Then to Adam He said, u“Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree vof which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:
wCursed is the ground for your sake;
xIn toil you shall eat of it
All the days of your life.
18Both thorns and thistles it shall 6bring forth for you,
And yyou shall eat the herb of the field.
19zIn the sweat of your face you shall eat bread
Till you return to the ground,
For out of it you were taken;
aFor dust you are,
And bto dust you shall return.”
20And Adam called his wife’s name cEve,7 because she was the mother of all living.
21Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.
The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV Page 9
