The Firsr Book of Moses Called “Genesis” – Simplified Version
The first book of Moses called Genesis focuses on the beginning and spread of sin in the world and culminates in the devastating flood in the days of Noah. The second part of the book focuses on God’s dealings with one man, Abraham, through whom God promises to bring salvation and blessings to the world.
Genesis is a Greek word meaning “origin,” “source,” “generation,” or “beginning.” The original title Bereshith means “In the Beginning.”
The first book begins by stating how God created the heavens and the earth. heAlso some of the most famous stories appear in Genesis: Adam and Eve in the garden, Cain murTdering his brother Abel, Noah’s ark, and the Tower of Babel. The stories appear in the first 11 chapters of Genesis, explaining how life first began and how disobedience to God ended paradise on earth, which damaged the relationship between God and humanity. The stories let us know how humans became scattered throughout the face of the earth once God cursed them with multiple languages, this was a punishment for them trying to build a tower to heaven. (Gen 11:4 – 9)
The remaining chapters of Genesis continues to let us know the story of the Patriarchs, the mothers and fathers of the Hebrew people whom God claimed as his own. The story begins when the Lord said unto Abram, “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house unto a land that I will shew thee: and I will make of thee a nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou will be a blessing. And I will bless thee that bless thee, and curse thee that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be a blessing. (Gen 12:1 – 3) When Isaac is born, 100-year-old Abraham became the father of the Jewish people.
The story continues with stories about Esau and Jacob, and Jacob’s sons selling their youngest brother, Joseph, into slavery. When the book of Genesis comes to a conclusion, Joseph is a leader in Egypt, and his extended family arrives to escape famine in Canaan.
There are some people who believe Moses wrote Genesis, as claimed by tradition, but most scholars now believe the book is a composite of several sources.
References:
1) King James Version of the Holy Bible – the Old Testament (Genesis)
2) Grolier Inc. MCMXCVI
