Genesis 1-3

 

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The Jews refer to the first five books of the Bible—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy—as the Torah (TORAH). In Hebrew, Torah means “law” or “instruction.”

Each book of the Pentateuch is related to God’s covenant with the people of Israel, yet each book is independent and contains its own specific theme.

 

The book of Genesis comes from a Greek word meaning origin, source, birth, or beginning. As its title suggests, it is the book about beginnings. Although there is no explicit statement about the author, Jewish and Christian traditions consistently regard Moses as the writer.

Chapter 1

Chapter 1 serves as the introduction to Genesis and at the same time the introduction to the entire Bible. It records the creation of heaven and earth and the origin of humanity, declaring that the beginning of the world and the origin of all things come from God.

 

It introduces:

• The beginning of the universe (verses 1–2),
• The creation of light and the expanse as the physical background of the world (verses 3–8),
• The sea, land, and vegetation (verses 9–13),
• The sun, moon, and stars, and through them the creation of day and night and the seasons (verses 14–19),
• Living creatures such as birds and fish, together with the heavenly bodies (verses 20–23),
• Land animals, and above all, human beings, whom God created and declared to be “very good” (verses 24–31).

Q1) Who created the heavens and the earth, and when did He do so (verse 1)?

Q2) On the fifth day, what did God fill the sky and the sea with (verses 20–21)?

Q3) What authority and commands did God give to human beings (verses 26, 28), and what food did He provide for them (verse 29)?

Chapter 2

Chapter 2 provides a supplementary explanation of the creation account in Chapter 1 and also serves as an introduction to Chapter 3. It describes the beginning of human history in much greater detail than Chapter 1.

 

After completing the creation of heaven and earth in six days, God rested on the seventh day, set it apart, and blessed it as a holy day (verses 1–4).

God formed human beings from the dust of the ground (verses 5–7), planted the Garden of Eden, and entrusted humans with the responsibility to care for it while enjoying its privileges (verses 8–15).

 

In the middle of the garden, God placed the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and commanded complete obedience (verses 16–17).

Although the man named all the living creatures, God saw that it was not good for him to be alone (verses 18–20). Therefore, God created a helper suitable for him, a partner, the woman, so that human history would begin with the family (verses 21–25).

 

Q1) How did God create human beings (verse 7)?

Q2) How did God create a helper suitable for Adam (verses 20–22)?

Q3) Who named all the livestock, the birds of the air, and the wild animals (verses 19–20), and called the helper “woman” (verse 23)?

Chapter 3

Chapter 3 records the process of humanity’s fall through Satan’s temptation. Humanity ignored God’s command, which required absolute obedience, and fell into sin by yielding to Satan’s deception.

 

Satan, disguised as a serpent, tempted the woman who lived in God’s garden (verses 1–5).

Led by temptation, both the woman and the man disobeyed God’s command (verses 6–7).

God then questioned them about their disobedience (verses 8–13) and pronounced judgment and curses upon Satan, who tempted them, and upon humanity, who followed the temptation (verses 14–19).

As a result of breaking trust with God, Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden (verses 20–24).

 

Q1) What changes occurred to Eve and Adam after they fell into the serpent’s temptation (verses 7–8)?

Q2) How did Adam and Eve respond when God called them after breaking the covenant (verse 10)?

Q3) What judgments did God pronounce on the serpent, Eve, and Adam (verses 14; 16–17; 19)?

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Source: Becoming Church (Tistory)