Genesis is the first book of the Bible. It also is the first book of Torah, or the law, the first five books of the Bible which detail God's initial covenant with the people of Israel.The book has two main sections. The first, chapters 1-11, answers some of the foundation questions about life on earth. How was the earth created? Where did bad things, such as murder, arise? Why are there so many languages? This section also includes a lengthy story about a great worldwide flood, which destroyed much of God's creation, except for the humans and animals preserve in Noah's Ark.
The second section tells the stories of key men in the earliest history of the Hebrews -- the most prominent men in the first four generations of Hebrews. They are Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. The story describes God's initial covenant (or promise) with Abraham and how it is transferred through the generations. The story of Joseph also presents the reason for how these people ended up in Egypt (a story fully told in the second book of Torah, Exodus).
