How were we created? Why were we created? What should our relationship be with God? What does God want from us? What is the meaning of life? These are some questions that man has been asking from the beginning of time. Perhaps Genesis was written to give insight into some of life's questions.
Genesis is the first book of the Old Testament and serves as an essential introduction to the entire Bible, or the "book of beginnings". From the excerpt given in the text, it is difficult to ascertain the author of the book. However, although the identity of the author is not mentioned in the book, from outside sources, historians believe that Moses himself wrote the book along with the other four books of the Pentateuch. The book was written for the Hebrew people. It records the beginnings of human history, the origin of the Hebrew people, the creation of man and God's covenant with His people. .
The basic story-line of the Genesis excerpt is that God created heaven and earth, plants and animals, humans and birds in six days and declared the 7th a day of rest. Adam and Eve were the first humans. Eve was formed from Adam's rib. They lived in the Garden of Eden and could do anything and eat anything except the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A serpent tempted Eve and they subsequently ate from the forbidden tree. At that point they had wisdom, and realized they were naked. They were ashamed and hid from God. They were cast out from the garden. Adam and Eve had three sons, Cain, Abel and later, Seth. Cain was jealous of Abel and killed him. Sin was rampant throughout the land and the only righteous man left was Noah. God told him to build an ark, and filled it with animals. It rained for 40 days and nights. God's anger had subsided and he began pleased once again with mankind through Noah. The flood ended. .
Although Genesis represents a history of the Hebrew nation and the account of how men were created, it also portrays a more humanistic, more intimate portrayal of God.
