Genesis

Read this book by chapter and explore its background.

Purpose To trace the establishment of God’s plan to overcome sin through his chosen people, Israel
Author Moses, according to tradition
Date Records primeval events (from the earliest times) and events from the time when the patriarchs lived (around 2100–1700 BC)
Setting A variety of places in the Middle East, focusing heavily on the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and his sons) during their time in Canaan and Egypt

Overview Article

Genesis is the book of beginnings—of the universe and of humanity, of sin and its catastrophic effects, and of God’s plan to restore blessing to the world through his chosen people. God began his plan when he called Abraham and made a covenant with him. Genesis traces God’s promised blessings from generation to generation, to the time of bondage and the need for redemption from Egypt. It lays the foundation for God’s subsequent revelation, and most other books of the Bible draw on its contents. Genesis is a source of instruction, comfort, and edification.

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Key People, Places, and Terms

Themes

God’s Covenant with Abraham 20 God started a relationship with Abraham before making a formal covenant (agreement) with him ( Genesis 12:1–9 ; 15 ). God started the relationship with Abraham by speaking to him in a vision. God promised that the eld... Infertility 16 Almost all of the wives of the patriarchs suffered infertility (they were unable to have children) before eventually having children. The only possible exception was Leah, and even she could not have children for some... Blessing 15 Before the patriarch Jacob died, he blessed each of his sons and Joseph's sons ( Genesis 49:1–28 ; 48:3–20 ). This was also how his father Isaac had blessed him ( 27:27–29 ). A blessing gives, improves, and enriches l... God’s Covenant with Noah 13 A covenant is a special agreement or promise between two groups or individuals. In the Bible, covenants are often made between God and humans. These agreements typically include promises, obligations, and sometimes si... Altars 11 Noah built the first altar mentioned in the Bible ( Genesis 8:20–21 ). Cain and Abel also gave offerings to God ( Genesis 4:3–5 ). The patriarchs built many altars (see Genesis 12:7–8 ; 13:4 , 18 ; 22:9 ; 26:25 ; 33:2... Promised Land 11 God gave the first man and woman the task of governing the earth and ruling over creation. This was to meet their needs and honor the creator ( Genesis 1:28–30 ). But when humanity sinned, they became separated from G... Famine 10 Famine happened early in the lives of the patriarchs Abraham and Isaac ( Genesis 12:10 ; 26:1 ). When the patriarch Jacob’s family experienced famine, God had already placed his son Joseph in Egypt to help God's peopl... Human Sexuality 10 When God created the first humans in his own image, he created them male and female ( Genesis 1:27 ). God gave them the ability to have children through their sexuality. This was so they could fill the earth with peop...
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The Priestly Blessing 9 The priestly blessing is a well-known and beloved passage in the Hebrew Bible ( Numbers 6:22–27 ). For centuries, worshipers have found comfort in its short yet meaningful lines. This famous text is simple and disting... Babel: The Dispersion of Nations 9 The story of the tower of Babel explains how language barriers separated nations and ethnic groups, scattering them geographically. After the great flood, when God judged a very evil human race, humans rebelled again... Circumcision 9 Many ancient cultures practiced circumcision, the removal of the male foreskin (see Jeremiah 9:25–26 ). God chose circumcision as a sign of a covenant (special agreement) that focuses on descendants. God promised to m... Symbolic Numbers 8 Numbers in Scripture have often led people to strange conclusions. Understanding ancient number symbolism can help us interpret the Scriptures better. Yet, this symbolism is not precise. We must be careful when using... God’s Covenants 8 The word "covenant" (from the Hebrew word berith ) means "bond." A covenant is a binding relationship based on a commitment that includes promises and duties. The covenant relationship requires faithfulness and enable... Retribution 8 God gave humans the task of having children and taking care of the world ( Genesis 1:28 ). Yet, as the population increased, so did spiritual evil, violence, and murder ( 4:8 , 23 ; 6:5 , 11–13 ). This led to a corrup... Darkness and Light 8 Darkness means there is no light. There was no light until God commanded it to appear. He then separated light from darkness ( Genesis 1:2 , 4–5 , 18 ). The ninth plague he sent against Egypt was three days of deep da... Inheriting the Land 7 Is the physical world bad? Are spirit, soul, and energy the pure good we seek on our life journey? Will we only be truly spiritual and happy when we are free from our earthly bodies? The Bible answers these and simila... Death 7 Humans are mortal, and death is the natural end of life on earth ( Psalm 90:1–6 ). Human identity began when God breathed life into the dust of the earth and made a man ( Genesis 2:7 ). This state reverses at death wh... The Righteous Suffer 6 The book of Job invites readers to examine why we have faith in God. Job lost his possessions, family, and friends. This deeply tested his faith. Yet, he kept trusting God and proved that when Satan accused him, Satan... Security and Obedience 6 The Book of Life is a divine record that contains the names of those who belong to God and will receive eternal life ( Revelation 20:12 ). The idea of removing a name from the Book of Life may raise questions about wh... Sin Enters the World 6 Genesis 3 explains how humans lost their moral innocence by rebelling against God. What God called "very good" was no longer perfect ( Genesis 1:31 ). The man and woman ate the fruit that promised knowledge of good an...

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Outline

Use of Genesis in the New Testament

Quoted 39 times across 9 New Testament books

Total quotations 39
Connected books 9
Most-connected book Romans 10

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Echoed in MatthewMark

Male and female He created them, and He blessed them. And in the day they were created, He called them “man.”

Echoed in MatthewMark

I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”

Echoed in ActsGalatians

And through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

Echoed in ActsGalatians

But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to everything that Sarah tells you, for through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.

Echoed in RomansHebrews

All References

Genesis bookOverview.connections.ntReference Compare
Genesis 1:27 Matthew 19:4
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OT Text
  • So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
NT Text
  • Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female
Genesis 1:27 Mark 10:6
Compare
OT Text
  • So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
NT Text
  • from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female
Genesis 2:2 Hebrews 4:4
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OT Text
  • And by the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on that day He rested from all His work.
NT Text
  • And on the seventh day God rested from all His works
Genesis 2:7 1 Corinthians 15:45
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OT Text
  • Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.
NT Text
  • The first man Adam became a living being”; the
Genesis 2:24 1 Corinthians 6:16
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OT Text
  • For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
NT Text
  • unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh
Genesis 2:24 Ephesians 5:31
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OT Text
  • For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
NT Text
  • For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become
Genesis 2:24 Matthew 19:5
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OT Text
  • For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
NT Text
  • For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh
Genesis 2:24 Mark 10:7–8
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OT Text
  • For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
NT Text
  • For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and the two will become one flesh
Genesis 5:2 Matthew 19:4
Compare
OT Text
  • Male and female He created them, and He blessed them. And in the day they were created, He called them “man.”
NT Text
  • Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female
Genesis 5:2 Mark 10:6
Compare
OT Text
  • Male and female He created them, and He blessed them. And in the day they were created, He called them “man.”
NT Text
  • from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female
Genesis 5:24 Hebrews 11:5
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OT Text
  • Enoch walked with God, and then he was no more, because God had taken him away.
NT Text
  • Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before
Genesis 12:1 Acts 7:3
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OT Text
  • Then the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you.
NT Text
  • and told him, ‘Leave your country and your kindred and go to the land I will show you
Genesis 12:3 Acts 3:25
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OT Text
  • I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
NT Text
  • Through your offspring all the families of the earth will be blessed
Genesis 12:3 Galatians 3:8
Compare
OT Text
  • I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
NT Text
  • All nations will be blessed through you
Genesis 12:7 Galatians 3:16
Compare
OT Text
  • Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
NT Text
  • and to his seed. The Scripture does not say, “and to seeds,” meaning many, but “and to your seed,” meaning
Genesis 14:17–19 Hebrews 7:1
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OT Text
  • After Abram returned from defeating Chedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine—since he was priest of God Most High — and he blessed Abram and said: “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,
NT Text
  • Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him
Genesis 14:20 Hebrews 7:2
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OT Text
  • and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything.
NT Text
  • and Abraham apportioned to him a tenth of everything. First, his name means “king of righteousness.” Then
Genesis 15:5 Romans 4:18
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OT Text
  • And the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring be.”
NT Text
  • he had been told, “So shall your offspring be
Genesis 15:6 Galatians 3:6
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OT Text
  • Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
NT Text
  • Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness
Genesis 15:6 James 2:23
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OT Text
  • Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
NT Text
  • Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness
Genesis 15:6 Romans 4:3
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OT Text
  • Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
NT Text
  • Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness
Genesis 15:6 Romans 4:9
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OT Text
  • Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
NT Text
  • that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness
Genesis 15:6 Romans 4:22
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OT Text
  • Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
NT Text
  • it was credited to him as righteousness
Genesis 15:13 Acts 7:6
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OT Text
  • Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
NT Text
  • that his descendants would be foreigners in a strange land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years
Genesis 15:14 Acts 7:7
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OT Text
  • But I will judge the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will depart with many possessions.
NT Text
  • But I will punish the nation that enslaves them,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come forth and
Genesis 17:5 Romans 4:17
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OT Text
  • No longer will you be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.
NT Text
  • I have made you a father of many nations
Genesis 17:5 Romans 4:18
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OT Text
  • No longer will you be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.
NT Text
  • the father of many nations
Genesis 18:10 Romans 9:9
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OT Text
  • Then the LORD said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year, and your wife Sarah will have a son!” Now Sarah was behind him, listening at the entrance to the tent.
NT Text
  • At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son
Genesis 18:14 Romans 9:9
Compare
OT Text
  • Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you—in about a year—and Sarah will have a son.”
NT Text
  • At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son
Genesis 18:18 Galatians 3:8
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OT Text
  • Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed.
NT Text
  • All nations will be blessed through you
Genesis 21:10 Galatians 4:30
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OT Text
  • and she said to Abraham, “Expel the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac!”
NT Text
  • Expel the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son
Genesis 21:12 Hebrews 11:18
Compare
OT Text
  • But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to everything that Sarah tells you, for through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.
NT Text
  • Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned
Genesis 21:12 Romans 9:7
Compare
OT Text
  • But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to everything that Sarah tells you, for through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.
NT Text
  • Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned
Genesis 22:16 Hebrews 6:13
Compare
OT Text
  • saying, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your only son,
NT Text
  • since He had no one greater to swear by, He swore by Himself
Genesis 22:17 Hebrews 6:14
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OT Text
  • I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies.
NT Text
  • I will surely bless you and multiply your descendants
Genesis 22:18 Acts 3:25
Compare
OT Text
  • And through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
NT Text
  • Through your offspring all the families of the earth will be blessed
Genesis 22:18 Galatians 3:8
Compare
OT Text
  • And through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
NT Text
  • All nations will be blessed through you
Genesis 25:23 Romans 9:12
Compare
OT Text
  • and He declared to her: “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”
NT Text
  • The older will serve the younger
Genesis 47:31 Hebrews 11:21
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OT Text
  • “Swear to me,” Jacob said. So Joseph swore to him, and Israel bowed in worship at the head of his bed.
NT Text
  • Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff