01001 Genesis Intro - Dr. J. Vernon McGee (Thru the Bible)

GENESIS
"The Seed Plot of the Bible"
WRITER: Moses
NAME: Genesis
The name Genesis is taken from the Septuagint. The Septuagint
(LXX) is a Greek translation made of the Old Testament in
Alexandria at the order of Ptolemy Philadelphus about 285-247 B.C.
Josephus tells us that this translation was made by 72 priests (hence
its name) in 72 days. Six priests were from each of the 12 tribes.
Christ and Paul quoted from this translation of the Old Testament. It
is older than any of the Hebrew texts extant today.
Genesis is the book of beginnings and the families — the beginning
of creation, man, woman, sabbath, marriage, family, work, sin,
murder, sacrifice, races, languages, culture, civilization, and redemption.
Genesis means "origin," "source," "birth." The meaning closest to
that of the original is "birth." It is derived from the Greek verb gennao,
which means "to beget" or "give birth to." Genesis is the book of
beginnings and sources, but more particularly it is the book of births
— this is often overlooked. It is the book of generations. According to
this understanding of Genesis, it falls into two natural divisions:

1. Genesis 2:4 — The Book of the Birth of Heaven and the Earth
(from Septuagint)
2. Genesis 5:1 — The Book of the Birth of Men
Simply stated, the Book of Genesis is the record of the "family
tree" of the Jews. It is the genealogy of heaven, earth, and man.
Even the new birth is suggested in Genesis 3:15, where is the first
mention of a Redeemer.

OUTLINE (according to genealogies):
Gen. 1:1 — 2:6 Book of generations of heavens and earth —
divine poem of creation — God's creative work
Gen. 2:7 — 6:8 Book of generations of Adam (men, anthropoi)
— Adam was created, but children born to him
Gen. 6:9 — 9:29 Generations of Noah
Gen. 10:1 — 11:9 Generations of sons of Noah
Gen. 11:10-26 Generations of sons of Shem (Gentiles)
Gen. 11:27 — 25:11 Generations of Terah
Gen. 25:12-18 Generations of Ishmael
Gen. 25:19 — 35:29 Generations of Isaac (why Abraham left out, "In
Isaac shall thy seed be called" cf. Genesis
21:12; Hebrews 11:8, 9; Romans 9:7)
Gen. 36:1 — 37:1 Generations of Esau
Gen. 37:2 — 50:26 Generations of Jacob (genealogy of rejected
line given first, chosen line last, cf. 1 Corinthians
15:46 for principle in giving genealogies)
KEY: Generations
PURPOSE: To give us the families — Genesis 12:3; 22:18; 28:13,
14; Acts 3:25; Galatians 3:6, 9, 16.
The first 11 chapters cover a minimum of 2000 years. It could easily
be a thousand times longer. From chapter 12 to chapter 50, the time
is 350 years. This should arrest our attention.
11 chapters cover 2000 years, plus.
39 chapters cover only 350 years.
Certainly the record slows down at chapter 12. Better stated, the first
11 chapters constitute an introduction to the remainder of the book
and the Bible.

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