NIV Adventure Bible

Zondervan

Chapter One

Who wrote this book?

There is some debate about who wrote Genesis. However, many scholars believe Moses wrote it.

Why was this book written?

Genesis tells how God created the universe and human beings. It also covers the special promises God made to Abraham.

What do we learn about God in this book?

God created all things. He loves people, but he will punish sin. God promises, however, to save people who trust him.

Who are the key people in this book?

The most important people in this book are Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachel, and Joseph.

When did this happen?

No one knows when the creation or the flood occurred. Abraham was born about 2150 B.C. His great-grandson Joseph died about 1800 B.C.

Where did this happen?

Genesis 1–11 happened in Mesopotamia. Genesis 12–36 took place in canaan, which is also called the promised land. The rest of Genesis took place in Egypt. (See the map index at the back of this bible to find Egypt.)

What are some of the stories in this book?

God creates the universe Genesis 1 God creates Adam and Eve Genesis 2 Adam and Eve sin Genesis 3 Noah builds an ark Genesis 6 God sends a flood to punish sin Genesis 7–8 God gives promises to Abraham Genesis 12 Abraham prays for a city Genesis 18 Jacob steals Esau's blessing Genesis 27 Jacob's name is changed Genesis 32 Joseph's brothers sell him into slavery Genesis 37 Joseph becomes a ruler Genesis 39–41

The Beginning

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, dark ness 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 a vault between the waters to separate water from water." 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault "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 pro duce 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 vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault 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 vault 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 vault of the sky." 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird ac cording 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: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the 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 mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; 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 in the sea and the birds in the sky 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 in the sky and all the creatures that move along 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.

2 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 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rest ed from all the work of creating that he had done.

Adam and Eve

4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

5 Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7 Then the Lord God formed a 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 the Lord God had planted a gar den in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The Lord 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 Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord 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 from it you will certainly die."

18 The Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."

19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. 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 in the sky and all the wild animals.

But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord 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 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

The Fall

3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord 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 certainly die," the ser pent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat from 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 the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord 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 the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this,

"Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.

Words to Treasure

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1

Did You Know?

What does create mean?

1:1 The word create means "to make something new." God did just that when he created the universe. Genesis tells us that God created everything. Read this chapter and you will find many things that God created.

Live It!

Genesis 1:26-27

You're Special

Read Genesis 1:26–27. God made you in his own image. You are not like the other creatures God made— humans are the only creatures that God created in his own image or likeness. That doesn't mean that you look like God or that you're equal to God, but it does mean that you are his very special creation.

Look at pictures of your mom or dad when they were your age. How were they like you? How were they different? Your parents love you very much because you are their child, and you are like them in important ways. Ask your mom or dad to tell you why they think you are special.

God loves you very much because you are his child and his one-of-a-kind special creation. You are made in his own image, but you are still your very own person. Write a letter to God, thanking him for adopting you as his son or daughter, for creating you in his image, and for loving you so very much.

People in Bible Times

Adam

God created Adam, the first human being, in his own image. That means that in many ways Adam was like God. God made Adam from the dust of the ground and breathed life into him. God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden to take care of it.

People in Bible Times

Eve

God did not want Adam to be alone, so he created a helper for him. Her name was Eve, and God made her from one of Adam's ribs. Adam and Eve lived together in the Garden of Eden.

Did You Know?

What kind of fruit did Adam and Eve eat?

3:6 The bible does not name the fruit that Adam and Eve ate. It's not really important. The important point of this story is that Adam and Eve disobeyed God. He had told them not to eat the fruit from this particular tree, but they did it anyway. Genesis 3 tells what happened because they disobeyed.

Live It!

Genesis 3:1-13

Wrong Decisions

Adam and Eve made a wrong decision, and they ate from a tree that God had told them to leave alone. Do you ever wonder why they did it? For some answers, read Genesis 3:1–13. Adam and Eve made the wrong decision because:

• 3:4 Someone told them it was all right to do the wrong thing.

• 3:5 It looked like an exciting thing to do.

• 3:6 A close friend did it first.

After Adam and Eve had made that wrong decision, they felt guilty and afraid. They hid from God when he entered the garden. They knew they had done wrong, but it was too late.

Think about what you should say if someone tells you it's all right to do a wrong thing, if something wrong looks exciting, or if a friend does a wrong thing first and wants you to do it too. If you can't think of a good answer, ask an older friend or your mom or dad for advice. Genesis 3:1–13

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Excerpted from NIV Adventure Bible by Lawrence O. Richards Copyright © 2012 by Lawrence O. Richards. Excerpted by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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