TITLE
The Hebrew title is Bereshith, “In the beginning.” The Greek, or Septuagint (LXX) title is Genesis, “Origins.”

AUTHOR
Moses. Ezra 6:18 states Moses wrote God’s instructions in a book. Jesus Christ refers to Moses as the author of the first five books of the Old Testament, known as the Pentateuch or “the law” (John 1:17; 5:47; 7:19). Another New Testament authority shows Moses is the author of these books (Romans 10:5,19). Jewish tradition also recognizes Moses as the author.

DATE
@ 1486-1446 BC. Moses probably wrote the book of Genesis during the early portion of the wilderness journey of the Israelites. The Masoretic text defines the time span of Genesis as 2369 years ending with the death of Joseph in Egypt (50:26).

THEME
• The creation of man (chapters 1-11).
• Beginning of the patriarchal history of the Hebrew people (chapters 12-15).
• The sovereignty of God over all He has created.
• The story of salvation.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (1:1).