Genesis
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Chapters
Genesis 2: God Rests and Makes a Garden Home
God finished creating and rested on the seventh day, making it holy. He formed the man from the dust, breathed life into him, and placed him in the Garden of Eden to work it and care for it. God made the woman from the man's side, and they were joined as husband and wife.
Genesis 3: The First Sin and God's Promise
The serpent tempted Eve, and Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating from the forbidden tree. They felt shame and hid. God came to them, pronounced judgment, and promised that the woman's offspring would crush the serpent's head. God made clothing for them and sent them out of the garden.
Genesis 4: Cain and Abel
Adam and Eve had two sons, Cain and Abel. Both brought offerings to God. God accepted Abel's offering but not Cain's. Cain grew angry, and God warned him to master sin, but Cain killed his brother. God judged Cain yet protected him with a mark. Adam and Eve later had another son, Seth, and people began to call on the name of the Lord.
Genesis 5: From Adam to Noah
Genesis 5 lists the family line from Adam through Seth to Noah. Each man lived, had children, and died, except Enoch, who walked with God and was taken by God. Methuselah lived the longest of all. Lamech named his son Noah, hoping he would bring comfort.
Genesis 6: God Tells Noah to Build an Ark
As people multiplied, the earth became filled with wickedness and violence, and God was grieved. God decided to send a flood, but Noah found favor in His eyes. Noah was righteous and walked with God. God told Noah to build an ark and bring his family and pairs of animals inside, and Noah did everything God commanded.
Genesis 8: The Waters Go Down
God remembered Noah and the animals and sent a wind so the waters went down. The ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. Noah sent out a raven and a dove; the dove came back with an olive leaf. When the earth was dry, God told Noah to come out. Noah built an altar and worshiped, and God promised that while the earth remains, seasons, day and night will not stop.
Genesis 9: The Rainbow Promise
God blessed Noah and his sons, told them to fill the earth, and gave them animals for food. He taught that human life is precious because people are made in God's image. God made a covenant never again to destroy the earth with a flood and set the rainbow in the clouds as its sign. Later, Noah's son Ham dishonored his father, while Shem and Japheth showed respect.
Genesis 10: The Nations Spread Out
Genesis 10, called the Table of Nations, lists the families that came from Noah's sons Shem, Ham and Japheth. From them the nations spread over the earth, each with its own lands and languages. The chapter mentions Nimrod, a mighty hunter who built cities, and points ahead to Shem's line, through which Abraham would come.
Genesis 11: The Tower of Babel
People who all spoke one language gathered in the land of Shinar and began building a city and a tower to make a name for themselves instead of filling the earth. The Lord came down, confused their language, and scattered them over the earth. The chapter then traces Shem's family line to Terah and his son Abram.
Genesis 12: God Calls Abram
God called Abram to leave his country and family and go to a land God would show him. God promised to make him a great nation, bless him, and bless all the families of the earth through him. Abram obeyed, traveled to Canaan, and built altars to the Lord. During a famine he went to Egypt and, afraid, said Sarai was his sister, but God protected Sarai.
Genesis 13: Abram and Lot Separate
Abram returned from Egypt to Canaan, very rich in livestock, silver and gold, and worshiped at his altar near Bethel. His herdsmen and Lot's herdsmen quarreled because the land could not support both. Abram generously let Lot choose first. Lot chose the well-watered Jordan plain near Sodom. God then promised Abram all the land he could see and offspring as many as the dust of the earth.
Genesis 14: Abram Rescues Lot
Four kings made war against five kings, including the king of Sodom, and carried off Lot and his possessions. Abram gathered 318 trained men, rescued Lot and brought back everything. Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most High, blessed Abram, and Abram gave him a tenth of everything. Abram refused to keep any reward from the king of Sodom so that only God would get the credit.
Genesis 15: God's Covenant with Abram
God told Abram not to be afraid, for He was his shield and great reward. When Abram asked about having no child, God promised him a son and showed him the stars, saying his offspring would be as many. Abram believed the Lord, and God counted it to him as righteousness. God confirmed His covenant with a solemn ceremony and promised the land to Abram's descendants.
Genesis 16: Hagar and the God Who Sees
Sarai, still childless, gave her servant Hagar to Abram so she could have a child through her. When Hagar conceived, conflict arose, and Sarai treated Hagar harshly, so Hagar fled into the wilderness. The angel of the Lord found her by a spring, told her to return, and promised that her son Ishmael would have many descendants. Hagar called the Lord the God who sees her.
Genesis 17: New Names and a Covenant Sign
When Abram was ninety-nine, God appeared as God Almighty and renewed His covenant. He changed Abram's name to Abraham, father of a multitude, and Sarai's name to Sarah. God gave circumcision as the sign of the covenant for Abraham's household. God promised that Sarah would have a son named Isaac within a year, and that He would also bless Ishmael.
Genesis 18: Is Anything Too Hard for the Lord?
The Lord appeared to Abraham at Mamre as three visitors. Abraham hurried to welcome them with water, rest and a meal. The Lord promised that Sarah would have a son in a year; Sarah laughed, and the Lord asked, Is anything too hard for Yahweh? Then Abraham humbly prayed for Sodom, asking God to spare the city for the sake of the righteous, and God agreed to spare it if ten righteous people were found.
Genesis 19: God Rescues Lot
Two angels came to Sodom, and Lot welcomed them into his home. The men of the city were very wicked and tried to harm the visitors, but the angels protected Lot's household. Because the Lord was merciful, the angels led Lot, his wife and daughters out of the city before God judged Sodom and Gomorrah with fire. Lot's wife looked back and became a pillar of salt. God remembered Abraham and rescued Lot.
Genesis 20: God Protects Sarah Again
Abraham moved to Gerar and again said Sarah was his sister out of fear. King Abimelech took Sarah, but God warned Abimelech in a dream, kept him from touching her, and told him to return her. Abimelech returned Sarah with gifts and rebuked Abraham. Abraham prayed for Abimelech, and God healed his household.
Genesis 21: Isaac Is Born
The Lord kept His promise: Sarah gave birth to Isaac when Abraham was one hundred years old, and Sarah said God had made her laugh with joy. Later, Hagar and Ishmael were sent away. In the wilderness God heard the boy crying, showed Hagar a well, and promised to make Ishmael a great nation. Abraham made a peace treaty with Abimelech at Beersheba and called on the Lord, the Everlasting God.
Genesis 22: God Will Provide
God tested Abraham by telling him to offer Isaac on a mountain in Moriah. Abraham obeyed, trusting that God would provide. When Isaac asked about the lamb, Abraham said God would provide it. At the last moment the angel of the Lord stopped Abraham, and God provided a ram caught in a thicket instead. Abraham named the place Yahweh Will Provide, and God renewed His promise to bless all nations through Abraham's offspring.
Genesis 23: Sarah's Burial
Sarah died at Hebron at 127 years old, and Abraham mourned and wept for her. Abraham, a sojourner in the land, asked the Hittites for a burial place. He respectfully bought the field of Ephron with the cave of Machpelah for four hundred shekels of silver and buried Sarah there. This was the first piece of the promised land Abraham owned.
Genesis 24: A Wife for Isaac
Abraham sent his trusted servant to his relatives to find a wife for Isaac. At the well, the servant prayed for God's guidance, asking that the right young woman would offer water to him and his camels. Before he finished praying, Rebekah came and did exactly that. The servant worshiped the Lord, Rebekah's family agreed, and Rebekah said, I will go. Isaac married Rebekah and loved her.
Genesis 25: Esau and Jacob
Abraham died at a good old age and was buried by Isaac and Ishmael in the cave of Machpelah. Rebekah could not have children, so Isaac prayed and the Lord answered. She had twins, Esau and Jacob, and the Lord said the older would serve the younger. One day a hungry Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew, showing that he despised his birthright.
Genesis 26: Isaac Digs Wells
During a famine, God told Isaac not to go to Egypt and repeated the promises He gave Abraham. Isaac repeated his father's mistake by calling Rebekah his sister, but God protected them. God blessed Isaac's crops and flocks, and the Philistines became jealous and filled his wells. Isaac kept moving and digging new wells instead of fighting, until he found room at Rehoboth. God appeared to him at Beersheba, and Isaac built an altar and made peace with Abimelech.
Genesis 27: Jacob Takes the Blessing
Isaac, old and nearly blind, planned to bless Esau. Rebekah overheard and helped Jacob disguise himself as Esau with goatskins and his brother's clothes. Jacob deceived his father and received the blessing. When Esau returned, he wept bitterly and was so angry he planned to kill Jacob. Rebekah sent Jacob away to her brother Laban. The family's deception brought sorrow, yet God's purpose stood.
Genesis 28: Jacob's Ladder
Isaac blessed Jacob again and sent him to Paddan Aram to find a wife among Rebekah's relatives. On the way, Jacob slept at a place with a stone for a pillow. He dreamed of a stairway reaching to heaven with angels going up and down, and the Lord stood above it and gave Jacob the promises of Abraham, saying, I am with you. Jacob woke, called the place Bethel, which means house of God, and vowed that the Lord would be his God.
Genesis 29: Jacob Meets Rachel
Jacob arrived near Haran and met shepherds at a well. When Rachel came with her father's sheep, Jacob rolled the stone from the well and watered her flock. Laban welcomed him. Jacob loved Rachel and worked seven years for her, and they seemed like a few days. But Laban tricked Jacob by giving him Leah instead, so Jacob worked seven more years for Rachel. The Lord saw that Leah was unloved and gave her sons; with Judah she said, This time I will praise Yahweh.
Genesis 30: Jacob's Family Grows
Rachel and Leah competed for Jacob's love, and each gave her servant to Jacob as a wife, as was common then. Many children were born: in all, eleven sons and a daughter, Dinah, by the end of the chapter. God remembered Rachel and she bore Joseph. Jacob then made an agreement with Laban for speckled and spotted animals, and God blessed Jacob so that his flocks grew greatly.
Genesis 31: Jacob Goes Home
Laban's attitude toward Jacob changed, and the Lord told Jacob to return to the land of his fathers, promising, I will be with you. Jacob left secretly with his family and flocks, and Rachel took her father's household idols. Laban chased them, but God warned Laban in a dream not to harm Jacob. Jacob and Laban made a covenant of peace at a heap of stones called Mizpah, and Laban returned home.
Genesis 32: Jacob Wrestles with God
As Jacob neared home, he learned that Esau was coming with four hundred men. Jacob was afraid. He divided his camp, prayed humbly, reminding God of His promises, and sent gifts ahead to Esau. That night, alone by the Jabbok, Jacob wrestled with a man until daybreak and would not let go without a blessing. God changed his name to Israel, and Jacob realized he had seen God face to face. He limped away, changed and blessed.
Genesis 33: Jacob and Esau Make Peace
Jacob saw Esau coming with four hundred men. He went ahead of his family and bowed to the ground seven times. But Esau ran to meet him, hugged him, kissed him, and they wept together. Jacob urged Esau to accept his gift, saying that seeing Esau's face was like seeing the face of God. The brothers parted in peace. Jacob settled near Shechem, bought land, and built an altar called El-Elohe-Israel.
Genesis 34: Trouble at Shechem
This is a hard chapter. Dinah, Jacob's daughter, went out to visit the women of the land, and Shechem, the prince of the city, took her and dishonored her. Jacob's sons were grieved and angry. Pretending to make an agreement, Simeon and Levi attacked the city, and the brothers plundered it. Jacob rebuked them for bringing trouble on the family. The chapter shows how sin leads to more sin when anger takes revenge.
Genesis 35: Back to Bethel
God told Jacob to go to Bethel and build an altar. Jacob told his household to put away their foreign gods, and they buried them. God protected them on the journey. At Bethel, God appeared to Jacob again, confirmed his new name Israel, and repeated the covenant promises. On the way to Bethlehem, Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin. Later Isaac died at 180 years old, and Esau and Jacob buried him together.
Genesis 36: Esau's Family
Genesis 36 lists the descendants of Esau, who is also called Edom. Esau moved away from Jacob to the hill country of Seir, because their flocks and herds were too large for the land to support both. Esau's family grew into a nation with chiefs and kings. This shows that God kept His word to bless Esau with a nation, while the covenant line continued through Jacob.
Genesis 37: Joseph and His Brothers
Jacob loved Joseph more than his other sons and gave him a special coat, so his brothers hated him. Joseph dreamed that his family would bow down to him, and his brothers hated him even more. When Joseph went to check on them, they plotted to kill him. Reuben persuaded them to throw him into a pit instead, and Judah suggested selling him. They sold Joseph to traders going to Egypt, then deceived their father with Joseph's coat. Joseph was sold to Potiphar in Egypt.
Genesis 38: Judah and Tamar
This is a difficult chapter about Judah's family. Judah married a Canaanite woman and had three sons. His older sons were wicked and died, and Judah failed to keep his promise to give his youngest son to Tamar, their widow. Tamar disguised herself and made Judah face his wrong. When the truth came out, Judah confessed, She is more righteous than I. Tamar gave birth to twins, Perez and Zerah. Perez became an ancestor of King David.
Genesis 39: Joseph in Potiphar's House
Joseph was a slave in the house of Potiphar, an Egyptian officer. The Lord was with Joseph and made everything he did succeed, so Potiphar put him in charge of his whole house. Potiphar's wife tried again and again to tempt Joseph to sin, but Joseph refused, saying, How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? When he ran away from her, she lied about him, and Joseph was put in prison. But even in prison, the Lord was with Joseph and showed him kindness.
Genesis 40: Joseph Explains Dreams
In prison, Joseph was put in charge of Pharaoh's chief cupbearer and chief baker. Both had troubling dreams. Joseph said, Don't interpretations belong to God? and explained them. The cupbearer would be restored in three days, but the baker would be executed. Joseph asked the cupbearer to remember him to Pharaoh. Everything happened as Joseph said, but the cupbearer forgot Joseph.
Genesis 41: Joseph Rules in Egypt
Two years later, Pharaoh had two dreams that no one could explain: seven thin cows ate seven fat cows, and seven thin heads of grain swallowed seven full ones. The cupbearer remembered Joseph. Joseph told Pharaoh, It isn't in me. God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace, and explained that seven years of plenty would be followed by seven years of famine. Pharaoh made Joseph ruler over Egypt. Joseph stored grain during the good years, had two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, and sold grain when the famine came.
Genesis 42: Joseph's Brothers Come to Egypt
The famine reached Canaan, and Jacob sent ten of his sons to Egypt to buy grain, keeping Benjamin at home. Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him, and they bowed before him as in his dreams. Joseph tested them by calling them spies, kept Simeon in prison, and demanded they bring Benjamin. The brothers confessed to one another their guilt for what they had done to Joseph. Joseph secretly returned their money, which frightened them. Jacob refused to let Benjamin go.
Genesis 43: Benjamin Goes to Egypt
The famine continued, and the family needed more food. Judah promised his father that he would be responsible for Benjamin's safety. Jacob prayed for God Almighty to give them mercy and let Benjamin go. In Egypt, Joseph's steward welcomed the brothers, released Simeon, and told them their God had given them their money. Joseph saw Benjamin, was overcome, and wept privately. He then hosted a feast and gave Benjamin five times as much as the others.
Genesis 44: Judah Offers Himself
Joseph gave a final test. He had his silver cup hidden in Benjamin's sack and sent his steward to accuse the brothers of stealing. When the cup was found, the brothers tore their clothes and all returned to Egypt. Joseph said only Benjamin must stay as a slave. Judah stepped forward and pleaded, telling how their father's life was bound up with Benjamin's. Judah offered to stay as a slave in Benjamin's place so the boy could go home.
Genesis 45: Joseph Forgives His Brothers
Joseph could no longer hold back. He sent everyone else out and wept aloud, saying, I am Joseph! His brothers were terrified, but Joseph comforted them: Now don't be grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. He kissed his brothers and wept with them. Pharaoh invited the whole family to Egypt. When Jacob heard that Joseph was alive, his spirit revived, and he said, I will go and see him before I die.
Genesis 46: Jacob Moves to Egypt
Israel set out for Egypt with his whole family. At Beersheba he offered sacrifices, and God spoke to him in a vision: Don't be afraid to go down into Egypt, for there I will make of you a great nation. I will go down with you. The chapter lists Jacob's family, seventy persons in all. Joseph rode to meet his father in Goshen, fell on his neck, and wept a long time. Joseph prepared his family to live in Goshen as shepherds.
Genesis 47: Jacob Blesses Pharaoh
Joseph presented five brothers and then his father to Pharaoh. Pharaoh gave them the best of the land, Goshen. Jacob, 130 years old, blessed Pharaoh. As the famine grew severe, Joseph sold grain to the Egyptians in exchange for money, then livestock, then land, so the people survived and Pharaoh owned the land, and the people gave a fifth of their harvest to Pharaoh. Israel prospered in Goshen. Before he died, Jacob made Joseph promise to bury him with his fathers in Canaan.
Genesis 48: Jacob Blesses Joseph's Sons
When Jacob was ill, Joseph brought his sons Manasseh and Ephraim to him. Jacob recalled God's promise at Bethel and adopted Joseph's sons as his own. Joseph placed Manasseh, the older, at Jacob's right hand, but Jacob crossed his hands and put his right hand on Ephraim, the younger. He blessed them in the name of the God who had shepherded him all his life. Jacob said Ephraim would be greater, and he told Joseph, God will be with you.
Genesis 49: Jacob Blesses His Sons
Jacob gathered his twelve sons and spoke words about each one's future. Reuben, Simeon and Levi heard hard words because of their past sins. Judah received a royal promise: the scepter would not depart from Judah until the one comes to whom it belongs. Joseph was blessed by the Mighty One of Jacob, the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel. Jacob asked to be buried in the cave of Machpelah, and then he died.
Genesis 50: God Meant It for Good
Joseph wept over his father, and Egypt mourned for Jacob. Joseph and his brothers buried Jacob in the cave of Machpelah in Canaan. Afterward, the brothers feared Joseph would take revenge. Joseph wept and said, Don't be afraid. He went on, As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to save many people alive. He comforted them and cared for their children. Before Joseph died at 110, he said God would surely bring Israel up to the promised land, and asked that his bones be carried there.