Genesis, the first book of theBible. Its namederives from the opening words: “In the beginning….” Genesis narrates the primeval history of the world (chapters 1–11) and the patriarchal history of theIsraelite people (chapters 12–50). The primeval history includes the familiar stories of theCreation, theGarden of Eden,Adam and Eve,Cain and Abel,Noah and theFlood, and theTower of Babel. The patriarchal history begins with the divine promise toAbraham that “I will make of you a great nation” (12:2) and tells the stories of Abraham andSarah (chapters 12–25) and their descendants:Isaac and his twin sonsJacob andEsau (chapters 26–36) and Jacob’s family, the principal figure beingJoseph (chapters 37–50), whose story tells how theIsraelites came to be inEgypt. Their deliverance is narrated in the following book ofExodus. Genesis must thus be seen as a part of a larger unit of material traditionally understood tocomprise the first five books of the Bible, called theTorah or the Pentateuch.

Scholars have identified three literary traditions in Genesis, as inDeuteronomy, usually identified as theYahwist, Elohist, and Priestly strains. The Yahwist strain, so called because it used the nameYahweh (Jehovah) for God, is a Judaean rendition of the sacred story, perhaps written as early as 950bce. TheElohist strain, which designates God asElohim, is traceable to the northern kingdom of Israel and was written 900–700bce. ThePriestly strain, so called because of its cultic interests and regulations for priests, is usually dated in the 5th centurybce and is regarded as the law upon whichEzra andNehemiah based their reform. Because each of these strains preserves materials much older than the time of their incorporation into a written work,Genesis contains extremely old oral and written traditions.