Moses is widely believed to be the author of Genesis. Not until the nineteenth century was the authorship of Moses questioned. However, both biblical and extra-biblical evidence confirm this. Jesus clearly accepts Moses as the author, as evidenced by His statement in John 7:22, “Moses gave you circumcision…” Also, Jewish and early Christian traditions agree that Moses is the author.

Conservative scholars think Genesis was written during the 1440’s B.C., while liberal scholars argue much later dates, some as late as the sixth century B.C. If Moses is indeed the author, and if the conservative date of the Exodus (1446 B.C.) is used, then Genesis must have been written in the 1400’s B.C.

Genesis is principally a book of beginnings. It tells the story of the creation of the universe until the Patriarch Joseph’s death in Egypt, perhaps many thousands of years. Several important concepts surface within the narrative of the account. First, the God who created the universe is the same who called Abraham and Sarah, gave them Isaac, blessed Jacob and protected Joseph. Second, Genesis makes mankind’s universal rebellion against Him painfully clear. Adam rebels in the garden, God floods the world because of our evil, man arrogantly tries to reach heaven at Babel, and all of the Patriarchs commit sin against Him. Third, due to this rebellion, Genesis shows that God judges and will judge all people for their actions. Fourth, this rebellion continues for all people.

Genesis was primarily written to the new nation of Israel. They needed to know their history so they would know the God whom they were supposed to serve. The earlier portions of Genesis also provided views of God and humanity that were important to educate the Israelites about truth since they were entering into the pagan culture of Canaan.

1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

5:24 “Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.”

6:8 “But Noah found favor in the eyes of Yahweh.”

12:3 “And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

50:20 “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.”

Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve were the first people to live on the newly created earth God had created. They were not just another animal though. Adam was the only creature to have God “breath life” into. He was also created to be the head of creation, to be the steward of the Garden. Eve was to be Adam’s helpmate as they “tended the garden.” Unfortunately, they disobeyed God’s command not to eat of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Thus sin entered creation, and corrupted God’s perfect creation. Adam and Eve were punished for this, and received the curse which all people after them have suffered under.

Noah

As the only righteous man on earth, God chose Noah as the one who would carry on humanity, as well as the animals, through the flood God was about to bring in punishment. Noah was obedient and constructed the Ark into which he put his family and representatives of every animal.

Abraham

A resident of Ur (in modern Iraq), God called Abraham (called Abram then) to leave his country and family and go to the land of Canaan. God promised Abraham a people, a nation, and a land, and has kept that promise, preserving the Jewish people throughout history.

Isaac

The miraculous son of Abraham, the “son of promise” through whom God preserved the Jewish people and the Messiah, Jesus.

Jacob

The blessed son of Isaac, whose name means “supplanter” or “deceiver.” He bought his brother’s birthright for a bowl of soup, and fooled his aging father Isaac into blessing him instead of Esau. Jacob “struggled with God” (perhaps the pre-incarnate Jesus) one night, “and prevailed” (Gen. 32:28), so his name was changed to Israel, “prince of God.” Jacob became the father of the twelve tribes of Israel

Joseph

The favored son of Jacob, he was sold into slavery in Egypt by his jealous brothers. He remained faithful to God and was blessed there with a position of power and authority. He forgave his brothers and brought his family to Egypt where God promised to make them a great nation.

Creation (1:1—2:25)

God brought forth a perfect universe, designed to sustain life and for humanity to enjoy. Christians differ whether the days of Genesis are periods of time (millions of years) or solar days (24 hour days) and whether the days are contiguous or there are gaps between the days.

Genesis 1:26-28 speaks of the creation of humans as male and female, while Genesis 2:7, 21-22 records that God created the man Adam, and subsequently created Eve from Adam. Man is made in the image of God, sharing His personal attributes, and so unlike the remainder of creation. Man is unlike God in that he is limited (finite) and so like the remainder of creation.

The Fall (3:1-24)

God gave Adam and Eve only one prohibition in the Garden: “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Gen 2:16-17). Unfortunately for all of God’s creation, Adam and Eve violated this command, committing the first sin to occur in God’s creation. Thus Adam and Eve fell from their perfection, and God condemned them to experience both physical and spiritual death.

The Flood (6:1—9:29)

Beginning with the murder of Abel by Cain, mankind began a descent into rampant sin. Eventually, men had become so sinful that God was going to wipe the Earth clean. He chose Noah, a man “who walked with God” (Gen 6:9) to construct a ship into which a pair of every animal and Noah’s family would enter and be able to survive the coming cataclysm. When this was done, God caused flooded the Earth, covering “all the high hills.” Every creature not in the ark, including man, died in the floodwaters. After the waters receded and Noah came out of the ark, God made a promise that He would never again flood the entire Earth, and gave a sign of this promise; the rainbow. While many doubt the historical occurrence of a world-wide flood, others contend that there is much evidence to support it, ranging from geologic data that can only be explained by massive flooding, to world-wide indigenous traditions of cataclysmic floods.

The Tower of Babel (11:1-9)

From Adam to Noah there was one language on Earth. Several generations after the flood, the Bible records that men decided to construct, “a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth” (Gen 11:4). Apparently, all of humanity at the time was involved with the project. God, knowing that such a project would undoubtedly lead men away from Him, “confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth” (Gen 11:9).

Abraham’s Call and God’s Covenants with Him (12—18)

God said to Abraham, “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you” (Gen 12:1). Abraham was obedient and left Ur for Canaan. God also made covenants with Abraham. He said, “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Gen 12:2-3). God said to Abraham, “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations…I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God” (Gen 17:4-8). God also said, “And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered” (Gen 13:16). This covenant was not contingent on his decedents faith or obedience, and is thus is still in effect.

Israel Goes Down to Egypt (42—50)

The descendants of Abraham, under Joseph’s leadership journeyed to Egypt because of a famine in Canaan. This journey set the stage for the 400 year enslavement of Israel under the Egyptians, during which time they would become a “mighty nation,” and after which God would rescue them and bring them back to the Promised Land.

• Creation, the Flood, the Tower of Babel (unknown dates)
• Abraham born in Ur of the Chaldeans, ca. 1946 B.C.
• Abraham called to go to Canaan, ca. 1871 B.C.
• Isaac born to Abraham and Sarah ca. 2066 B.C.
• Jacob born to Isaac and Rebekah, ca. 2006 B.C.
• Abraham dies in Canaan, ca. 1771 B.C.
• Joseph born to Jacob and Rachel, ca. 1915 B.C.
• Isaac dies in Canaan, ca. 1886 B.C.
• Jacob and his family move to Egypt, ca. 1876 B.C.
• Jacob dies in Egypt, ca. 1859 B.C.
• Joseph dies in Egypt, ca. 1805 B.C.

Atheism—Doctrine of no God

Polytheism—Doctrine of many gods

Fatalism—Doctrine of chance

Evolutionism—Doctrine of progressive organization from chaos to cosmos        

Pantheism—Doctrine that identifies God and the universe

Materialism—Doctrine of the eternality of matter

God is Creator (God is assumed and is prior to the universe)

Gen 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

The universe is not eternal, nor is it the result of random, chance events. God created it, bringing it forth into existence from nothing.

God is Personal (Matter is subsequent and subservient to personality)

Gen 3:8 “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day…”

Gen 17:1 “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless.”

Gen 32:24 “Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.”

God is not some cosmic force, but personal and relational. He interacts with humanity, often in visible manifestations. Many theologians believe some of these manifestations were the pre-incarnate Son, as in Genesis 32.

Man is in the Image of God

Genesis 1:26-27 "God said, 'Let’s make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them."

Man is Sinful (Though like God, humans also have a nature corrupted by sin)

Gen. 3:6 “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate..”

Gen. 4:8 “Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.”

Gen. 20:9 “And Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? How have I offended you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done deeds to me that ought not to be done.”

Over and over we see the sinfulness of man portrayed in Genesis. Adam and Eve disobeyed. Cain murdered Abel. Even Abraham, chosen by God lies to protect himself – twice! We see man is violent, deceitful, vengeful, wrathful, and commits rape and even incest.

Báez-Camargo, Gonzalo. Archaeological Commentary on the Bible. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1984.

Cornfeld, Gaalyah and David Noel Freedman. Archaeology of the Bible: Book by Book. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1976.

Currid, John D. Excavating the Land of the Bible: An Introduction to the Archaeology of the Old Testament. Phillipsburg, New Jersey: P & R Publishing Company, 2020.

Currid, John D. Doing Archaeology in the Land of the Bible: A Basic Guide. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1999.

Darom, David. Animals of the Bible: From the Lion to the Snail. Photographs: Yossi Eshbol, Nir Darom, Pinhas Amitai. Herzlia, Israel: Palphot Ltd., n.d.

Darom, David. Beautiful Plants of the Bible: From the Hyssop to the Mighty Cedar Trees. Herzlia, Israel: Palphot Ltd., n.d.

House, H. Wayne. Chronological and Background Charts of the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981.

Nakhai, Beth Alpert. Archaeology and the Religions of Canaan and Israel. Matthews, Victor, ed. ASOR Books, Volume 7. Boston, MA: American Schools of Oriental Research, 2001.

Museums:

St. John's Monastery, Island of Patmos

Church of the Holy Sepulchre/Church of the Resurrection, Jerusalem 

Israel Museum, Jerusalem (need all of the requirements they gave me)

Istanbul Museum, Istanbul, Turkey

Israel National Parks

Todd Bolen, BiblePlaces.com

Photographers:

Robert Drouhard