THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, CALLED
BEGINNING
בְּרֵאשִׁית
ΓΕΝΕΣΙΣ
⇐
Title: “בְּרֵאשִׁית” (Bereshit / B’reshit), translated as “in beginning” or (traditionally) “in the beginning”, after the first phrase in the book.
Greek Title: Γένεσις - Genesis, meaning "origin, beginning, birth, creation".
Author: Moses.
Time: 1405 B.C.
Summary: The book deals with the beginning of history as it concerns Israel and the rest of the nations that surrounded Israel. God brings order out of chaos.
Purpose: To remind Israel of their origins - where they came from and why they were there - and of God’s covenant with them through the generations. “The chief purpose of the book is to write a religious history, showing how, after man had fallen into sin, God began to give him a religion and to unfold to him a plan of salvation. In doing this God is revealed as Creator, Preserver, Law-Giver, Judge and Merciful Sovereign.” (Peter Pett)
Audience: Written to Israel right after being freed from slavery in Egypt (a story further continuated and explored in the next 4 books.)
Key verse: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to keep many people alive.” (Genesis 50:20)
Contemporary literature:
This book is the first of the Torah (traditionally translated as the Law) and is traditionally divided into Parashot (singular: Parashah), sections that are to be read each week. Bereshit has 12 parashot:
Material for further study:
Translations used for comparison and combination:
Parashat Bereshit | Parashat Noach | Parashat Lekh Lekha | Parashat Vayera | Parashat Chayyei Sarah | Parashat Toledot | Parashat Vayetzei | Parashat Vayishlach | Parashat Vayeshev | Parashat Miketz | Parashat Vayigash | Parashat Vayechi
The Creation | The first temple and its first priests | Mankind fails the test | Nachash punished and the first good news (protoevangelium) | Mankind is condemned guilty and punished | The first humans born under sin | Cain and Abel’s offerings | Cain also fails the test like his parents | Cain’s rebellious family | Abel’s substitute | From Seth to Noah | The sons of God try to foil God’s plan | Utter destruction is decreed | Noah's Ark and The Flood | Rainbow | Shem, Ham and Japheth | Babel - The origin of Babylon | The first patriarch: Abram
[...]
Translation in progress.
When God started creating skies and land,
the land was chaotic and uninhabited
and darkness was over the face of the deep abyss
and the Spirit of God brooded over the surface of the waters.
Then God said:
— Let there be light.
And there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated light from darkness. God named the light “day” and the darkness “night”.
There was evening and there was morning - the first day.
And God said:
— Let there be an expanse between the waters and let it divide waters from waters.”
So God made the expanse and divided the waters below it from the waters above it. God named the expanse “sky”.
There was evening and there was morning - a second day.
And God said:
— Let the waters under the sky be collected into one place and let dry ground appear.
And so it happened. Then God named the dry ground “land” and the collection of waters “seas”. And God saw that it was good.
He also said:
— Let the land bring forth grass - herb that yields seed and fruit that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the land.
And so it happened. And the land brought forth grass, herb that yields seed according and trees that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself, according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
There was evening and there was morning - a third day.
And God said:
— Let there be lights in the expanse of the skies, to make a division between the day and the night, be for signs, seasons, days and years and to provide light on the land.
And so it happened. God made two great lights - the greater one to have dominion over the day, and the lesser one to have dominion over the night - and also the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the skies to provide light on the land, to rule over the day and the night, and to make a division between the light and the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
There was evening and there was morning - a fourth day.
And God said:
— Let the waters abound greatly with living creatures, and let birds fly above the land, across the face of the expanse of the skies.
So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind.
God saw that it was good and He blessed them, saying:
— Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas. And let birds multiply on the earth.
There was evening and there was morning - a fifth day.
And God said:
— Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to her kind: cattle, creeping things and the beasts of the earth, each according to its kind.
And so it happened. And God made the beasts of the earth, the cattle and everything that creeps on the earth - all according to its kind. God saw that it was good.
Then He said:
— Let Us make man in Our image, looking like Us, and let them dominate the fish of the sea, the birds of the skies, the cattle, all the earth and everything that creeps on it.
So God made man in His own image,
He created him in the image of God,
male and female He created them.
And God blessed them, and said to them:
— Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth, make it subservient, and dominate the fish of the sea, the birds of the skies, and every living thing that creeps on the earth. Look, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is over the surface of all the earth and every tree in which there is fruit. It will be food for you. And to every living creature of the field, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, which has the breath of life in it, I have given every green herb for food.
And so it happened.
God saw everything that He made,
and indeed it was very good.
There was evening and there was morning - a sixth day.
Thus the skies, the land and all of their hosts were completed. On the seventh day, God completed His work which He had done and on it He ceased from all His work which He had done. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on that day He ceased from all the work which God had created and put it in order.
This is the account of the skies and the land, when they were created,
in the day that Yahweh God made them:
There had not grown any cultivated crops or grains on the land before, for Yahweh God had not caused it to rain on the land and there was no man to cultivate the ground. But a mist went up from the land and watered the surface of the ground. So Yahweh God formed the human - humus from the soil. Yahweh breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being.
Then Yahweh God planted an orchard in the east, in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. Yahweh caused every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food to grow out of the ground. In the very heart of the orchard was the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
Now a river went out of Eden to water the orchard and it parted from there and became four headwaters:
The name of the first is Pishon - it flows through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.
The gold of that land is good. There are also bdellium and onyx stones.
The name of the second is Gihon - it flows through the whole land of Cush.
The name of the third is Tigris - it runs along the east side of Asshur.
The fourth river is Euphrates.
Yahweh God took the man and put him in the orchard in Eden to work on it and watch over it. Then Yahweh God commanded the man:
— You may eat freely from every tree in the orchard, but you must not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, because on the day that you do so, you are doomed to die.
And Yahweh God said:
— It is not good that man should be alone. I will make a companion corresponding to him.
Yahweh God formed out of the ground every living creature of the field and every bird of the air - and He brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to every cattle, to every bird of the air and to every living creature of the field - but for Adam, no companion that corresponded to him was found.
Then Yahweh God caused the man to fall upon a deep sleep, and while he was sleeping, He took one of his sides and closed up the flesh in its place. Then Yahweh God built a woman from the side which He had taken from the man, and He brought her to the man. And the man said:
— At last, this is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh.
This one will be called “female”
for out of male this one was taken.
That’s why a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
The man and his wife were both nude, and they were not ashamed.
Now the Nachash was more shrewd than any living creature of the land which Yahweh God had made. And he said to the woman:
— Is it true that God has said, “Y’all must not eat from any tree in the orchard”?
The woman said to the Nachash:
— We may eat the fruit of the trees in the orchard, but of the fruit of the Tree which is in the very heart of the orchard, God said, “Don’t eat it, nor touch it, lest you die.”
But the Nachash said to the woman:
— Surely you’ll not die! For God knows that on the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.
So when the woman saw that the Tree brought fruit that was good for food, visually pleasant and that the Tree was desirable to make one wise, she took its fruit and ate it, then she also gave it to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they knew that they were nude; so they sewed together fig leaves and made for themselves loin-coverings.
And they heard the sound of Yahweh God moving about in the orchard, in the wind of the day. The man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Yahweh God, among the trees of the orchard.
But Yahweh God called to the man and said to him:
— Where are you?
The man replied:
— I heard Your voice in the orchard and I was afraid. I hid myself, because I was nude.
And Yahweh God asked:
— Who told you that you were nude? The Tree that I commanded you not to eat - did you eat from it?
The man replied:
— The woman whom You gave to be with me - she gave me some fruit of the Tree and I ate it.
Then Yahweh God said to the woman:
— What is this you have done?
The woman replied:
— The Nachash deceived me, and I ate.
So Yahweh God said to the Nachash:
— Because you have done this,
cursed are you more than all the cattle,
and more than all living creatures of the land.
On your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat,
all the days of your life.
And I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your seed and her Seed.
He will strike your head as you will strike His heel.
To the woman, He said:
— I will greatly multiply your sorrow when you conceive,
in grief you will give birth to children.
You will want to control your husband,
but he will dominate you.
And to Adam, He said:
— Because you have listened to your wife
and have eaten from the Tree of which I commanded you not to eat,
cursed is the ground because of you!
In toil you will eat of it all the days of your life,
and it will bring forth both thorns and thistles for you;
and you will eat the herb of the field.
by the sweat of your face, you will eat bread,
until you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.
And the man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all living. And Yahweh God made tunics of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. Then Yahweh God said:
— Look, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil. And now, lest he reach out his hand and take also from the Tree of Life, eat of it and live forever…
Therefore Yahweh God banished the man from the orchard in Eden to work on the ground from which he had been taken. He drove out man and He placed the Cherubim at the east of the orchard in Eden, along with the whirling sword of flame, to guard the way to the Tree of Life.
The man had relations with his wife Eve and she conceived and gave birth to Cain and said:
— I have gained a man from Yahweh!
And she again bore, this time his brother Abel. Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of land.
And it came to pass, at the end of time, that Cain brought a sacrificial offering of the fruit of the ground to Yahweh. As for Abel, he also brought - from the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. Yahweh looked favorably upon Abel and his offering, but He did not look favorably upon Cain and his offering. So Cain burned with anger and one could clearly see that in his face.
Yahweh said to Cain:
— Why are you angry? And why do you look gloomy? If you do what is right, won’t you be accepted? But if you don’t do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. It wants to control you, but you must dominate it.
Then Cain said with his brother Abel:
— Let’s go out to the field.
And so when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.
Yahweh said to Cain:
— Where is Abel your brother?
Cain replied:
— I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?
Yahweh said:
— What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground.
Now you are cursed from the ground which has opened its mouthCain said to Yahweh:
to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
When you till the ground,
no longer it will produce its strength to you.
A fugitive and a wanderer you shall be.
Cain went out from the presence of Yahweh and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden. And Cain had relations with his wife and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. He built a city and named the city after his son Enoch.
To Enoch, Irad was born,
Irad was the father of Mehujael,
Mehujael was the father of Methushael,
and Methushael was the father of Lamech.
Lamech took for himself two wives: the name of one was Adah, and the name of the other was Zillah. Adah gave birth to Jabal. He was the first of those who dwell among tents and livestock. His brother’s name was Jubal. He was the first of all the lyre and pipe players. As for Zillah, she also gave birth to Tubal-cain, a forger of every implement of bronze and iron. His sister was named Naamah.
Lamech said to his wives:
— Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
wives of Lamech, listen to my speech:
I killed a man for hurting me,
a young man for wounding me.
If Cain will be avenged sevenfold,
then Lamech, seventy-seven times!
Adam had relations with his wife again and she gave birth to a son and she named him Seth, because, “God has set another child for me in Abel’s place, because Cain killed him.”
As for Seth, also a son was born to him, and he named him Enosh. At that time, he began to call on the name of Yahweh.
This is a record of the family of Adam.
On the day that God created humankind, He made them in the likeness of God.
Male and female He created them, blessed them
and on the day they were created, He called them humankind.
Adam lived 130 years and became the father of a son that looked like him, according to his own image. He named him Seth.
Adam’s days after he became the father of Seth were 800 years, and he became the father of sons and daughters.
Adam lived a total of 930 years and he died.
Seth lived 105 years and became the father of Enosh.
Seth lived 807 years after he became the father of Enosh, and he became the father of sons and daughters.
Seth lived a total of 912 years, and he died.
Enosh lived 90 years and became the father of Kenan.
Enosh lived 815 years after he became the father of Kenan, and he became the father of sons and daughters.
Enosh lived a total of 905 years, and he died.
Kenan lived 70 years and became the father of Mahalalel.
Kenan lived 840 years after he became the father of Mahalalel, and he became the father of sons and daughters.
Kenan lived a total of 910 years, and he died.
Mahalalel lived 65 years and became the father of Jared.
Mahalalel lived 830 years after he became the father of Jared, and he became the father of sons and daughters.
Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years, and he died.
Jared lived 162 years and became the father of Enoch.
Jared lived 800 years after he became the father of Enoch, and he became the father of sons and daughters.
Jared lived a total of 962 years, and he died.
Enoch lived 65 years and became the father of Methuselah.
Enoch walked with God for 300 years after he became the father of Methuselah, and he became the father of sons and daughters.
Enoch lived a total of 365 years.
Enoch walked with God.
Then he was no longer found,
for God took him.
Methuselah lived 178 years and became the father of Lamech.
Methuselah lived 782 years after he became the father of Lamech, and he became the father of sons and daughters.
Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and he died.
Lamech lived 182 years and became the father of a son. He named him Noah, saying:
— This one will make us know alleviation in our work and the toil of our hands because of the ground that Yahweh has cursed.
Lamech lived 595 years after he became the father of Noah, and he became the father of sons and daughters.
Lamech lived a total of 777 years, and he died.
Noah was 500 years old and became the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth.
When mankind began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, some divine beings saw that the human women were beautiful, and they took wives for themselves of all whomever they chose.
But Yahweh God said:
— My Spirit will not protect mankind forever, because even they are flesh. They will have 120 years left.
The giants were on the land in those days (and even afterwards) when the divine beings would sleep with the human women, who gave birth to their children. Those giants were the famous “heroes” of ancient times.
But Yahweh God saw that the wickedness of man increased on the land, and that every imaginable plan coming from their hearts were completely and continuously evil. And God deeply pondered on the fact that He had made mankind on the land, and He agreed that, deep in His heart, He was angry about it.
So God said:
— I will wipe out mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the land - from human beings to cattle, from creeping things to birds of the skies. Because I’m deeply sad that I made them.
But Noah found grace in the eyes of Yahweh God.
This is the account of Noah.
Noah was a godly man, blameless among the people of his time. He pleased God. Noah was the father of 3 sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.
But the land was morally destroyed in God’s sight and was filled with injustice. And God looked upon the land and indeed it was morally destroyed, because everyone and everything had destroyed their ways on the land.
So Yahweh God said to Noah:
— The time for everyone and everything to end has come before Me, for the land is filled with injustice because of them. Now look, I’ll destroy them and the land.
So make for yourself an ark of cypress trees.
Make the ark with nests,
cover it inside and outside with bitumen.
And this is how you’re gonna make it:
the ark will be
137,2 meters long,
22,9 meters wide
and 13,7 meters high.
Make a roof for it
and finish the sides of the ark to within 50 centimeters.
Put a door on the side of the ark,
and make it with three decks - lower, middle and upper.
As for Me, look, I’m about to bring floodwaters on the land to destroy everything that breathes from under the skies. Everything that’s on the land will have their last breath. But I will confirm My covenant with you, and you’ll enter the ark with your sons, your wife and your sons’ wives. Bring two of every kind of all living creatures into the ark, male and female, to keep them alive with you. Two of every kind of bird, cattle and creeping things of the land will come to you to be kept alive. Store away all edible food to serve as food for you and the animals.
So Noah did everything exactly as Yahweh God commanded him.
Then Yahweh God told Noah:
— Enter the ark, you and your whole family, because I have seen that only you are righteous before Me in this generation. Take with you seven pairs from every kind of clean animal, the male and its mate; two of every kind of unclean animal, the male and its mate; and also seven pairs of every kind of bird of the sky, male and female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of the whole earth. Because seven days from now I will make it rain on the earth for 40 days and 40 nights and destroy every living thing from the face of the earth.
And Noah did everything Yahweh God commanded him.
Noah was 600 years old when the floodwaters came on the land. So Noah, his sons, his wife and his sons’ wives went together into the ark because of the floodwaters. Clean animals, unclean animals, birds and everything that creeps on the land, two by two, came to Noah into the ark, male and female, as God had commanded Noah.
And so it was after seven days, the floodwaters came on the land.
When Noah was 600 years old, on May 27th of that year, on that day, all the fountains of the watery deep burst open and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. It rained upon the land for 40 days and 40 nights. On that very day Noah, Shem, Ham and Japheth (Noah’s sons), Noah’s wife and his sons’ three wives entered into the ark. Every kind of wild animal, every kind of cattle, every kind of everything that creeps on the land, every kind of bird, everything with wings, two by two of everything that breathes, male and female, they entered the ark. Those who entered, male and female, from everyone, entered as God had commanded Noah.
And Yahweh God locked the ark from the outside.
The flood went on for 40 days and 40 nights. The waters multiplied and lifted up the ark, rising up above the land. The waters prevailed and multiplied greatly on the land. The ark laid upon the waters and moved upon the surface of the waters. The waters prevailed more exceedingly on the land and covered all the high mountains under the skies. The waters rose above 8 meters and covered all the high mountains.
Everything that moved on the land died - birds, cattle, wild animals, every creeping thing, and every man - everything that breathed and that was on the dry land died. So He destroyed every height which was on the face of the land, from man to cattle to creeping things and they were destroyed from the land. He spared only Noah and those with him in the ark. The water rose up high above the land for 150 days.
But God remembered Noah and every living thing - wild animals, cattle, winged creatures, creeping things - who were with him in the ark. So God brought a wind upon the land and the waters decreased. Then the fountains of the watery deep and the floodgates of the sky were shut up, and the rain was restrained from the sky. The waters gave way, being driven steadily from the land, and the waters decreased after 150 days.
On October 27th, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Urartu. The waters became steadily decreasing until December. On December 1st, the tops of the mountains appeared.
And so after 40 days, Noah opened the roof of the ark that he built, and sent out the raven. It kept flying in circles, back and forth, and did not return until the waters dried up from the land.
Then Noah sent out the dove after it to see if the waters decreased from the land, but the dove returned to him into the ark after not finding a resting place for her feet, since water was on the surface of the land. Stretching out his hand, Noah took the dove to himself and brought her into the ark.
He waited yet another 7 days, and sent out the dove again from the ark. When the dove returned to him in the evening, she brought in her mouth a dry twig of an olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the waters had receded from the land. After waiting yet another seven days, he sent out the dove again, but she proceeded not to return to him still.
And so, when Noah was 601 year old, on March 1st, the waters had subsided on the land. Noah uncovered the roof of the ark that he had built and saw that the water had subsided from the surface of the land. Then by May 27th, the earth dried up.
So Yahweh God spoke to Noah, saying:
— Come out of the ark, you, your wife, your sons and your sons’ wives with you. Lead out everything with you - from winged creatures to cattle, and every creeping thing moving on the land. May everyone and everything grow and multiply on the land!
So Noah came out with his wife, his sons and his sons’ wives. Every wild animal, every cattle, every winged creature, every creeping thing moving on the land according to their kind came out of the ark. Noah built an altar to Yahweh and he took from all the clean cattle and from all clean winged creatures, and offered them for a whole burnt offering on the altar.
Then Yahweh smelled the scent of pleasant aroma, and Yahweh God said to Himself:
— Thinking about it, I won’t add another curse upon the land because of what mankind does, since his thoughts are devoted to wicked things even at such a young age. So I won’t destroy every living thing again as I have done.
Every day on the land,
seed and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and spring,
day and night,
will not be ceased.
And God blessed Noah and his sons, and told them:
— Grow and multiply, fill the land and dominate it. The fear and terror of y’all will be on all the wild animals of the land, on all winged creatures of the sky, on everything that moves on the land and on all the fish of the sea. I have placed them under your control. And every moving thing that lives shall be food for y’all. As I gave y’all all the green plants, I give y’all everything. But y’all are not to eat meat while it’s still alive. For I will require even your blood of your lives at the hand of all the wild animals. And surely I also require an accounting from the hand of a man’s blood.
He who sheds blood,
his own blood will be shed in return,
For I, God, made man in My image.
But y’all, grow, multiply a lot, fill the land and multiply in it!
Then God told Noah and his sons:
— As for me, look, I’ll establish My covenant with y’all and y’all’s descendants after y’all and with every living being that’s with you - from birds, cattle and every wild animal of the land, from everything that came out with you from the ark. I’ll establish my covenant with y’all that nothing or no one will ever again be destroyed by the waters of a flood, and never again will there be a waterflood to destroy the whole land.
Then Yahweh God said to Noah:
— This is the sign of the covenant which I give between me and y’all, and between every living being that is with y’all, for future generations: I place My bow in the cloud, which will serve as a sign of a covenant between Me and the land. When I bring the clouds on the land and my bow appears in them, and I’ll remember My covenant between Me, y’all and every living being among all creatures. The waters will no longer become a flood to destroy everything and everyone. My bow will be in the cloud, and I’ll look at it to remember an everlasting covenant between Me and every living being among all creatures that are on the land.
God said to Noah:
— This is the sign of the covenant which I ordained between Me and everything on the land.
Therefore the name of the city is called Babel, because there Yahweh babbled the language of all the earth.
Now Yahweh said to Abram:
— Leave your country,
your relatives
and your father’s house
and go to the land I’ll show you,
and I will make you a great nation,
I will bless you
and make you have a great reputation,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you
and curse those who treat you with contempt.
All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.
So Abram left, as Yahweh had told him, and Lot went with him. (Now Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran.) Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all their possessions that they had collected and all the people they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. When they arrived there, Abram passed through the land as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh in the sacred place of Shechem. (The Canaanites were in the land at the time.)
Then Yahweh appeared to Abram and said:
— I will give this land to your descendants.
So Abram built an altar there to Yahweh, who had appeared to him. Then he moved from there to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. He built an altar there to Yahweh and called on the name of Yahweh. Then Abram journeyed on and on toward the Negev.
The two messengers came to Sodom in the evening. Lot was sitting at the gate of Sodom. When he saw the messengers, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face on the ground. He said:
— Over here, my lords! Please turn aside to your servant’s house, spend the night and wash your feet. Then you can get up early and go on your way.
But they said:
— No. We’ll spend the night in the city plaza.
But Lot insisted on it so much that they turned aside and entered his house. He made them a feast, gave them unleavened bread and they ate.
But before they could go to bed, every man, both young and old, people from every quarter of the city of Sodom, surrounded the house. They shouted to Lot:
— Where’s them men that came to you tonight? Bring them out so we can “know” them better!
So Lot went outside to them, shut the door behind him and said:
— No, brothers, please, don’t do such a wicked thing! Look here, I have two daughters who are virgins. Please let me bring them out to you and you can do with them whatever you please. Just don’t do anything to these men, because they have come under the protection of my roof.
But the men said:
— Get out of the way! This one came here as a foreigner and now he wants to play the judge!
[...]
Translation in progress.