TEACHING NOTES Introduction Genesis appropriately introduces the story of the Torah with “In the beginning...”. In the Hebrew Bible, this is actually the title of the book (Heb. b reshit). The title in our English Bibles (Genesis) comes from a Greek word meaning “genealogy” or “beginning”. Genesis introduces us to God as Creator of the heavens and the earth and then progresses by zooming into Abraham. The story of Genesis ends with Abraham’s descendants (Israel) in Egypt. *Chart: The Story of the Torah *Chart: BibleProject Genesis Poster The Literary Design of Genesis Genesis is designed in two major movements: Chapters 1-11: God and the Nations Chapters 12-50: God and Abraham’s Family Genesis Outline Gen. 1: Creation Key Verse: Gen. 1:27-28 “27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”” Gen. 2: Eden and the Garden Key Verse: Gen. 2:15 “15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” Gen. 3: Fall of Adam and Eve Key Verse: Gen. 3:15 “15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”” Gen. 4: Cain & Abel Key Verse: Gen. 4:7 “7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”” Gen. 5: Adam to Noah Key Verse: Gen. 5:28-29 “28 When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son 29 and called his name Noah, saying, “Out of the ground that the Lord has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.”” Gen. 6: Spiritual & Human Rebellion Key Verse: Gen. 6:11-12 “11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.” Gen. 7-8: The Flood Key Verse: Gen. 8:21-22 “21 And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. 22 While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”” Gen. 9: Covenant with Noah Key Verse: Gen. 9:1 “1 And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” Gen. 10: The Table of 70 Nations Key Verse: Gen. 10:15-18 “15 Canaan fathered Sidon his firstborn and Heth, 16 and the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, 17 the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, 18 the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Afterward the clans of the Canaanites dispersed.” Gen. 11: The Tower of Babel Key Verse: Gen. 11:6 “6 And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.” Gen. 12-14: The Call of Abram Key Verse: Gen. 12:1-3 “1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”” Gen. 15: God’s Covenant with Abram Key Verse: Gen. 15:5-6 “5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” Gen. 16: Hagar & Ishmael Key Verse: Gen. 16:11-12 “11 And the angel of the Lord said to her, “Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has listened to your affliction. 12 He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.”” Gen. 17: Abram becomes Abraham Key Verse: Gen. 17:4-6 “4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.” Gen. 18-19: Sodom & Gomorrah Key Verse: Gen. 18:20-21 “20 Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”” Gen. 20: Abraham & Abimelech Key Verse: Gen. 20:2 “2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.” Gen. 21: Birth of Isaac Key Verse: Gen. 21:1-3 “1 The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised. 2 And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. 3 Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac.” Gen. 22-23: The Sacrifice of Isaac & Sarah’s Death Key Verse: Gen. 22:14 “14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”” Gen. 24: Isaac & Rebekah Key Verse: Gen. 24:60 “60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, “Our sister, may you become thousands of ten thousands, and may your offspring possess the gate of those who hate him!”” Gen. 25: Abraham’s Death & Birth of Jacob & Esau Key Verse: Gen. 25:23 “23 And the Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.”” Gen. 26: Isaac & Abimelech Key Verse: Gen. 26:4-5 “4 I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, 5 because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”” Gen. 27-35: Jacob, Leah, & Rachel (Joseph Born) Key Verse: Gen. 27:29 “29 Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you!”” Key Verse: Gen. 28:12 “12 And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!” Key Verse: Gen. 32:28 “28 Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.”” Gen. 36: Esau’s Descendants Key Verse: Gen. 36:8 “8 So Esau settled in the hill country of Seir. (Esau is Edom.)” Gen. 37: Joseph’s Story Begins Key Verse: Gen. 37:28 “28 Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.” Gen. 38: Judah & Tamar Key Idea: This strange story is meant to show the reader that Judah is a flawed human who deceives and is therefore deceived by Tamar. This story also tells us where Perez and Zerah came from, who are mentioned later in the Torah and also in the genealogy of Jesus in Matt. 1:3. Gen. 39: Joseph & Potiphar’s Wife Key Verse: Gen. 39:2-3 “2 The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands.” Gen. 40: Joseph in Prison Key Verse: Gen. 39:21-23 “21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22 And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. 23 The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.” Gen. 41: Joseph and Pharaoh Key Verse: Gen. 41:38-40 “38 And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?” 39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. 40 You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.”” Gen. 42-45: Joseph’s Brothers Go in Egypt Key Verse: Gen. 45:7-8 “7 And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.” Gen. 46-47: Joseph’s Family Reunited in Egypt Key Verse: Gen. 46:27 “27 And the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two. All the persons of the house of Jacob who came into Egypt were seventy.” Gen. 48-49: Jacob Blesses His Sons Key Verse: Gen. 49:10 “10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.” Gen. 50: Deaths of Jacob & Joseph Key Verse: Gen. 50:19-20 “19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” Major Takeaway: God choses and uses severely flawed people. What’s the purpose of this story? The purpose of Genesis is to tell the story of how Israel began and how they ended up in Egypt. This sets the stage for the next part of the story called “The Exodus”. Exodus begins with a recap of the last chapters of Genesis. We’re told that the sons of Israel are in Egypt and all the descendants of Jacob were 70 persons. Then the author tells us an interesting detail... Exodus 1:7 ESV 7 But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them. Fruitful, increased greatly, multiplied, land was filled = This should sound familiar to faithful Torah readers. The first time we see this phrase is in Gen. 1:28. God is continuing His original plan through Israel.