Book of Genesis: Difference between revisions

The '''Book of Genesis'''{{efn|The name "Genesis" is from the Latin [[Vulgate]], in turn borrowed or transliterated from [[Greek language|Greek]] "{{Lang|grc|γένεσις}}", meaning "Origin"; {{lang-he-n|בְּרֵאשִׁית}}, "''Bərēšīṯ''", "In [the] beginning"}}, is the first book of the [[Hebrew Bible]] (the [[Tanakh]]) and the [[Old Testament]],<ref>Hamilton (1990), p. 1</ref> and tells the story of the partial fulfillment of God's promise to the Patriarchs.<ref>Clines (1997), p. 30</ref> It is divisible into two parts, the [[Primeval history]] (chapters 1–11) and the [[Patriarchal age|Ancestral history]] (chapters 12–50).{{sfn|Bergant|2013|p=xii}} The primeval history sets out the author's (or authors') concepts of the nature of the deity and of humankind's relationship with its maker: God creates a world which is good and fit for mankind, but when man corrupts it with sin God decides to destroy his creation, saving only the righteous [[Noah]] to reestablish the relationship between man and God.{{sfn|Bandstra|2008|p=35}} The Ancestral History (chapters 12–50) tells of the prehistory of Israel, God's chosen people.{{sfn|Bandstra|2008|p=78}} At God's command Noah's descendant [[Abraham]] journeys from his home into the God-given land of [[Canaan]], where he dwells as a sojourner, as does his son [[Isaac]] and his grandson [[Jacob]]. Jacob's name is changed to Israel, and through the agency of his son [[Joseph (son of Jacob)|Joseph]], the [[children of Israel]] descend into Egypt, 70 people in all with their households, and God promises them a future of greatness. Genesis ends with Israel in Egypt, ready for the coming of [[Moses]] and [[the Exodus]]. The narrative is punctuated by a series of [[Covenant (biblical)|covenants with God]], successively narrowing in scope from all mankind (the [[Noahic Covenant|covenant with Noah]]) to a special relationship with one people alone (Abraham and his descendants through Isaac and Jacob).<ref name="Bandstra28-29"/>