PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS

1. 4 Source Theory of the Pentateuch

(J, E, D, P)

2. The Bible Buried Secrets

BOOK OF 

GENESIS

“In the
beginning…”



(Chapters 1 – 50)

The book of Genesis is
divided into two main
parts:



1. Primeval Stories

(1 – 11)



2. Stories of the
Patriarch and
Matriarchs of Israel

(12 – 50)
Main Outline of the
Book of Genesis



1. Primeval Histories

(1:1 – 11:26)

2. Patriarch Abraham

(11:27 – 25:18)

3. Patriarchs Isaac and
Jacob (25:19 – 36:43)

4. Joseph and his
Brothers (37:1 – 50:26
Genesis lays the foundation for tackling the
big questions in life. It uses the medium of
narrative story – setting, characters and plot
– to present answers to the deeper
philosophical questions of origin.
- the beginning of the universe
- the origin of life
- the question of evil
- the reason for death and suffering
- the interplay of humans and nature
- the connections of humans to fellow
humans
- the relationship of humans to God
THE DAYS OF
CREATION

Genesis 1:1 – 2:4



“Let there be…”



(The First Story 

of Creation)


DAY 1: Light

Genesis 1: 3 – 5



God establishes day
and night.


DAY 2: Sky

Genesis 1: 6 – 8



God sets a dome to
separate the earth
below and the heavens
above.


DAY 3: Earth

Genesis 1: 9 – 13



God divides the dry
land from the sea and
fills the earth with
vegetation.


DAY 4: 

Sun, Moon & Stars

Genesis 1: 14 – 19



God creates the bearers
of the light to rule over
the day and night.


DAY 5: 

Birds and Sea Wildlife

Genesis 1: 20 – 23



God fills the sea and
sky with wildlife.


DAY 6: 

Animal Life and Man

Genesis 1: 24 – 31



God creates terrestrial
creatures.




DAY 7: Sabbath

Genesis 2: 1 – 3



God rests.
THE GARDEN OF
EDEN

Genesis 2:5 – 25



God creates an earthly
paradise.



(The Second Story 

of Creation)
This account opens with a description of a
bare earth. There is no vegetation, no rain
and no one to till the ground. God then
creates a human body out of the dust and
breathes life into it.
This simple passage is of theological
significance., since the body will return to
earth some day, but the spirit will belong to
God forever.
God then plants the earthly paradise called
Eden and gives life to the first humans,
Adam and Eve, to till the and keep it.
However, God also placed in the same
garden the tree of knowledge of good and
evil and forbidding Adam to eat from it.
God provides humans with a choice
between good and evil, thus giving them a
free will.
All is not paradise in the Garden of Eden.
God notices that man is alone and states
that this not good. According to the story,
God brings creatures to Adam so that
Adam can name them – which he does.
When Adam finishes naming all the
animals, God notes that none are identified
as man’s helper. So he sends Adam to sleep,
removes a rib and creates a woman from it.
He then presents him to Adam, who
promptly identifies her as woman, “for out
of man this one was taken.”
The text indicates the basis of marriage.
Husband and wife are described as
becoming “one flesh,” an allusion to both
the creative act and Adam’s declaration
about Eve.
The innocence of the first man and woman
is emphasized by the statement that they
were both naked and not embarrassed by it.
The Truths of Creation



“The inspired authors have
placed them at the beginning of
scripture to express in their
solemn language the truths of
creation – its origin and its end
in God, its order and goodness,
the vocation of man, and
finally the drama of sin and the
hope of salavtion.”

CCC, 289
1. God alone created the universe freely,
directly and without any help. He began
everything that exists outside of himself, he
alone is the Creator, and everything that
exists in the world depends on God, who
gives it being.
2. God created everything through the
eternal Word, his begotten Son, Jesus
(Col 1:16 – 17).
3. Creation is the common work of the Holy
Trinity.
OTHER THEMES:
1. Man as created in the image and likeness of
God. God’s gift of free will.
2. Man as a crown and apex of God’s creation
3. Man as a responsible steward of God’s creation.
4. Man as body and soul.
5. Man and woman as co-equal partners and
companions.
6. Creation as reflection of the Creator.


The heavens proclaim the glory of God; 

and the firmament shows forth 

the works of his hands.a

Day unto day takes up the story;

and night unto night makes known the message.



No speech, no word, no voice is heard

yet their span extends through all the earth.

their words to the utmost bounds of the world.

Psalm 19
THE FALL OF MAN

Genesis 3: 1 – 24





Adam and Eve: 

From Innocence to Exile







It is quite possibly a play on
the Latin word “malum,”
which means both “evil” and
“apple.” Artists may have been
using a visual pun by
portraying fruit of the tree of
the knowledge of good and
evil (malum) as an apple
(malum). 



The second creation story in Genesis
describes another reality: the sin of Adam
and Eve. With their sin the harmony of
original holiness and original justice
intended for humankind would be lost.
The second creation story in Genesis
describes another reality: the sin of Adam
and Eve. With their sin the harmony of
original holiness and original justice
intended for humankind would be lost.
What was life like in the Garden of Eden
before the Fall and how long did it last?
The Hebrew Bible is silent on this topic.
Much of what is believed about life in Eden
is presumed from what Adam and Eve lost
in the Fall.
Original Holiness and Original Justice is
the state of grace in which Adam and Eve
were created. As long as man remained in
friendship with God (covenant), the gifts of
Original Justice would remain.
- There would be no suffering or death.
- Man would be at peace with himself
- There would be harmony between man
and woman.
- There would be peace between Adam and
Eve, the first couple and all of creation.
“You may freely eat of
every tree of the
garden; but of the tree
of the knowledge of
good and evil you shall
not eat, for in the day
that you eat of it you
shall die.”

Genesis 2:16-17

“Christian revelation teaches that “the
power to decide what is good and what is
evil does not belong to man, but to God
alone.
St. John Paul II,
Veritatis Splendor, 35
The man is certainly free, inasmuch as he
can understand and accept God’s
commands. And possesses an extremely
far-reaching freedom, since he can eat ‘of
every tree in the garden.’
St. John Paul II,
Veritatis Splendor, 35
But his freedom is not unlimited: it must
halt before the ‘tree of the knowledge of
good and evil,’ for it is called to accept the
moral law given by God.
St. John Paul II,
Veritatis Splendor, 35
In fact, human freedom finds its authentic
and complete fulfillment precisely in the
acceptance of that law. God who alone is
good, knows perfectly what is good for man,
and by virtue of his very love proposes this
good to man in the commandments.”
St. John Paul II,
Veritatis Splendor, 35
The serpent contradicts
what God has said and
suggests that the
command is part of a
hidden agenda to deny
Adam and Eve knowledge
that has been reserved for
God



Since the fruit is
appealing for food,
delightful to look at, and
has the added benefit of
conferring wisdom, Eve
eats it and gives it to
Adam to taste as well.
Immediately Adam and
Eve’s eyes were open.

The first thing Adam and
Eve focus on is their
nakedness. Embarrassed,
they sew fig leaves
together to make clothes
Later that day, when God
is strolling in the garden,
Adam and Eve conceal
themselves. When God
calls out to them, they say
they are hiding because
they are afraid of their
nakedness.





God asks the humans who
told them they were
naked and accuses Adam
and Eve of eating the
forbidden fruit.

Adam shifts the blame by
saying it was the woman
who gave him the fruit.
Eve in turn implicates the
serpent, explaining that it
tricked her into tasting
the fruit. God then turns
to the serpent and places
a curse on it.

God returns to Eve and
curses her with pains in
childbirth and submission
to her husband. God tells
Adam that because he
followed Eve into sin, he
has to work hard to make
anything grow.

God also curses humans
with death, saying, “You
are dust.”
The fall of man uses figurative language
but describes an actual “deed that took
place at the beginning of the history of
man” (CCC, 390) that reveals with certainty
of faith that all human history is marred by
an original, voluntary sin committed by our
first parents.
The basic root of sin is man’s rejection of
God and opposition to his will.