Background
notes
Questions
to consider when reading Genesis
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Sources: www.genesis.net.au/reference/bible/
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Genesis 1
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and
the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the
surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that
the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called
the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening,
and there was morning--the first day. 6 And God said, "Let there be an expanse
between the waters to separate water from water." 7 So God made the expanse
and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it
was so. 8 God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there
was morning--the second day. 9 And God said, "Let the water under the sky
be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. 10 God
called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And
God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation:
seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it,
according to their various kinds." And it was so. 12 The land produced
vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing
fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
13 And there was evening, and there was morning--the third day. 14 And God
said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day
from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and
years, 15 and let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light
on the earth." And it was so. 16 God made two great lights--the greater light
to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made
the stars. 17 God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the
earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness.
And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was
morning--the fourth day. 20 And God said, "Let the water teem with living
creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky."
21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving
thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged
bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed
them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in
the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." 23 And there was evening,
and there was morning--the fifth day. 24 And God said, "Let the land produce
living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move
along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was
so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock
according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground
according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said,
"Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the
fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the
earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." 27 So God
created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and
female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful
and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish
of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves
on the ground." 29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on
the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it.
They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all
the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground--everything
that has the breath of life in it--I give every green plant for food." And
it was so. 31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there
was evening, and there was morning--the sixth
day.
Genesis 2
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed
in all their vast array. 2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he
had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 And
God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from
all the work of creating that he had done. 4 This is the account of the heavens
and the earth when they were created. When God made the earth and the heavens--
5 and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of
the field had yet sprung up, for God had not sent rain on the earth and there
was no man to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered
the whole surface of the ground-- 7 God formed the man from the dust of the
ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became
a living being. 8 Now God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and
there he put the man he had formed. 9 And God made all kinds of trees grow
out of the ground--trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food.
In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil. 10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there
it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon;
it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The
gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) 13 The
name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of
Cush. 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east
side of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. 15 God took the man
and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And
God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;
17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
for when you eat of it you will surely die." 18 God said, "It is not good
for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." 19 Now God
had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds
of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and
whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the
man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts
of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So God caused
the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one
of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then God made a
woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the
man. 23 The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called `woman,' for she was taken out of man." 24 For this reason
a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they
will become one flesh. 25 The man and his wife were both naked, and they
felt no shame.
Genesis 3
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of
the wild animals God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say,
`You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" 2 The woman said to the
serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say,
`You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden,
and you must not touch it, or you will die.'" 4 "You will not surely die,"
the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your
eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing
to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate
it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked;
so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 Then
the man and his wife heard the sound of God as he was walking in the garden
in the cool of the day, and they hid from God among the trees of the garden.
9 But God called to the man, "Where are you?" 10 He answered, "I heard you
in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid." 11 And he
said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that
I commanded you not to eat from?" 12 The man said, "The woman you put here
with me--she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it." 13 Then God
said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent
deceived me, and I ate." 14 So God said to the serpent, "Because you have
done this, "Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring
and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." 16 To the
woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with
pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you." 17 To Adam he said, "Because you listened to
your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, `You must not
eat of it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you
will eat of it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles
for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your
brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it
you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." 20 Adam named
his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. 21 God
made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And God
said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must
not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life
and eat, and live forever." 23 So God banished him from the Garden of Eden
to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man
out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming
sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of
life.
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