Genesis Intro NextThe five books of Moses were collectively called the Pentateuch, a word of
Greek origin meaning "the five-fold book." The
Jews called them the Torah, i.e., "the law." It is probable that the division of the Torah into five books proceeded from the Greek translators of the Old Testament. The names by which these several books are generally known are Greek.
The first book of the Pentateuch is called by the Jews Bereshith, i.e., "in the beginning", because this is the first word of the book. It is generally known among
Christians by the name of Genesis, i.e., "creation" or "generation," being the name given to it in the LXX. as designating its character, because it gives an account of the origin of all things. It contains, according to the usual computation, the history of about two thousand three hundred and sixty-nine years.
Genesis is divided into two principal parts. The first part (1-11) gives a general history of mankind down to the time of the
Dispersion. The second part presents the early history of
Israel down to the death and
burial of
Joseph (12-50).
There are five principal persons brought in succession under our notice in this book, and around these persons the history of the successive periods is grouped, viz., Adam (1-3), Noah (4-9), Abraham (10-25:18),
Isaac (25:19-35:29), and
Jacob (36-50).
In this book we have several prophecies concerning Christ (3:15; 12:3; 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14; 49:10). The author of this book was Moses. Under divine guidance he may indeed have been led to make use of materials already existing in primeval documents, or even of traditions in a trustworthy form that had come down to his time, purifying them from all that was unworthy; but the hand of Moses is clearly seen throughout in its composition.
Source:
The Bible Wiki
Time Period: Jewish Date - 0 AM (Jewish Biblical dating commences with Creation, which is numbered year 0, and in Jewish tradition is immediately followed by year 1). Many scholars have over the centuries attempted to calculate the date of Creation, and have come up with significantly divergence results, ranging from 3483 BC to 6934 years BC. Genesis covers from 0 AM to 2309 AM, 1615 BC.
Source:
The Bible WikiGenesis Intro Next