Genesis
Beginnings: creation, the fall, the flood, and the family of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph.
What the sources say, and how sure we are
- The text says
Genesis covers creation to the death of Joseph in Egypt. It never names its author.Gen 1:1; Gen 50:26
- The text says
Later Scripture speaks of “the Law of Moses” and “the Book of Moses,” and Jesus refers to Moses having written about him. Tradition applies this to the Pentateuch as a whole.Luke 24:44; John 5:46
- Outside evidence
Mesopotamian texts such as the Atrahasis epic, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and the Enuma Elish tell of creation and a great flood. Scholars agree there are parallels and disagree about whether the biblical account borrows from them, answers them, or draws on shared memory.Atrahasis; Gilgamesh XI; Enuma Elish
- Debated
Many scholars hold that the Pentateuch was assembled from several sources over centuries, and date its final form between the time of the monarchy and the exile. Others hold that Moses wrote or compiled it, with small later updates, and point to passages such as the list of Edomite kings “before any king reigned over the Israelites” as later additions.Gen 36:31
- Christian conclusion
The New Testament builds on Genesis, including Adam and Christ, and the opening of John echoes Genesis 1.Rom 5:12–21; John 1:1–3