Genesis
Old Testament · Pentateuch · 50 chapters
Reading time
~3.3 h
Difficulty
●●●●●
In the story
The beginning.
The name
Greek “origin” — from the Septuagint title.
Traditional attribution
Traditionally attributed to Moses as part of the Torah.
Modern scholarship on authorship
Most scholars see a long process of composition and editing from several sources and traditions; the details are debated. The Church teaches that the human authors wrote truly what God wished (Dei Verbum 11) without fixing a theory of composition.
Approximate date
Final form usually dated by scholars to the exile or after (6th–5th century BC), drawing on older traditions.
Audience
Israel — shaping its identity and faith.
Purpose
To tell who God is, who we are, and how God began to fulfil his promise through Abraham's family.
Major themes
- Creation
- Sin and its spread
- Covenant
- Promise
- Providence
Structure
- Primeval history (1–11)
- Abraham (12–25)
- Isaac and Jacob (25–36)
- Joseph (37–50)
How it connects to Christ
The promise to Abraham that all nations will be blessed (Genesis 12:3) is read by the New Testament as fulfilled in Christ (Galatians 3:8).
Awaiting theological review